Misconceptions, misinformation, and moving forward in theories of COVID-19 risky behaviors.

Ubiquitous misinformation on social media threatens the health and well-being of young people. We review research on susceptibility to misinformation, why it spreads, and how these mechanisms might operate developmentally. Although we identify many research gaps, results suggest that cognitive ability, thinking styles, and metacognitive scrutiny of misinformation are protective, but early adverse experiences can bias information processing and sow seeds of mistrust. We find that content knowledge is not sufficient to protect against misinformation, but that it, along with life experiences, provides a foundation for gist plausibility (true in principle, rather than true at the level of verbatim details) that likely determines whether misinformation is accepted and shared. Thus, we present a theoretical framework based on fuzzy-trace theory that integrates knowledge that distinguishes verbatim facts from gist (knowledge that is amplified by cognitive faculties and derived from trusted sources); personality as an information-processing filter colored by experiences; emotion as a product of interpreting the gist of information; and ideology that changes prior probabilities and gist interpretations of what is plausible. The young and the old may be at greatest risk because of their prioritization of social goals, a need that social-media algorithms are designed to meet but at the cost of widespread exposure to misinformation.

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Enhancing Equity in Australian Higher Education Using Fuzzy Trace Theory

Geritz,

Raciti

2023

Australasian Marketing Journal

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Australian higher education is unequal, with regional and remote students under-represented and less likely to succeed at university despite decades of policy initiatives. Regional and remote communities are diverse, requiring tailored marketing communications to improve their university participation and experience. There is often a considerable gap between pre-commencement expectations and perceived experiences of first-year, first-time (FYFT) students. The purpose of this research is to better understand how the pre-commencement expectations of FYFT regional university students are influenced by Fuzzy Trace Theory’s (FTT) gist mental representations and the influence this has on their satisfaction. This study qualitatively explores a theoretical framework linking FTT with expectations, cognitive dissonance, action/inaction responses and satisfaction. The five identified insights were pre-commencement expectations for (1) micro-cohort connections, (2) macro-cohort connections and (3) recreational connections that, when not met, led to FYFT regional university students’ (4) responding with action or inaction, or both; with (5) action responses leading to increased satisfaction and inaction responses leading to decreased satisfaction. This research is novel, exploring and establishing the influence of FTT gist representations on FYFT regional university students’ pre-commencement expectation development to help address educational inequality. These findings confirm the powerful influence university marketing communications have on underrepresented groups.

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Misconceptions, misinformation, and moving forward in theories of COVID-19 risky behaviors.

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Tracing Emerging Complexity of Scientific Reasoning Actions During Game-Based Learning

Tracing Emerging Complexity of Scientific Reasoning Actions During Game-Based Learning

The Psychology of Misinformation Across the Lifespan

Enhancing Equity in Australian Higher Education Using Fuzzy Trace Theory

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