Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
Mem Cognit. 2022 Feb;50(2):435-448. doi: 10.3758/s13421-021-01232-8. Epub 2021 Sep 17.
Research examining the continued influence effect (CIE) of misinformation has reliably found that belief in misinformation persists even after the misinformation has been retracted. However, much remains to be learned about the psychological mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon. Most theorizing in this domain has focused on cognitive mechanisms. Yet some proposed cognitive explanations provide reason to believe that motivational mechanisms might also play a role. The present research tested the prediction that retractions of misinformation produce feelings of psychological discomfort that motivate one to disregard the retraction to reduce this discomfort. Studies 1 and 2 found that retractions of misinformation elicit psychological discomfort, and this discomfort predicts continued belief in and use of misinformation. Study 3 showed that the relations between discomfort and continued belief in and use of misinformation are causal in nature by manipulating how participants appraised the meaning of discomfort. These findings suggest that discomfort could play a key mechanistic role in the CIE, and that changing how people interpret this discomfort can make retractions more effective at reducing continued belief in misinformation.
研究表明，即使在错误信息被撤回后，人们仍然会继续相信错误信息，这种持续影响效应（CIE）是可靠存在的。然而，对于导致这种现象的心理机制，我们仍有许多需要了解的地方。这一领域的大多数理论化研究都集中在认知机制上。然而，一些提出的认知解释表明，动机机制也可能发挥作用。本研究检验了这样一个假设，即错误信息的撤回会产生心理不适的感觉，从而促使人们忽视撤回信息以减少这种不适。研究 1 和 2 发现，错误信息的撤回会引起心理不适，这种不适会预测对错误信息的持续信任和使用。研究 3 通过操纵参与者对不适的意义的评价，表明不适与对错误信息的持续信任和使用之间的关系具有因果关系。这些发现表明，不适可能在 CIE 中发挥关键的机械作用，改变人们对这种不适的解释可以使撤回信息更有效地减少对错误信息的持续信任。
