School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China.
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Brain Development, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China.
J Med Internet Res. 2023 Aug 29;25:e49255. doi: 10.2196/49255.
The prevalence of misinformation poses a substantial threat to individuals' daily lives, necessitating the deployment of effective remedial approaches. One promising strategy is psychological inoculation, which pre-emptively immunizes individuals against misinformation attacks. However, uncertainties remain regarding the extent to which psychological inoculation effectively enhances the capacity to differentiate between misinformation and real information.
To reduce the potential risk of misinformation about digital health, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of psychological inoculation in countering misinformation with a focus on several factors, including misinformation credibility assessment, real information credibility assessment, credibility discernment, misinformation sharing intention, real information sharing intention, and sharing discernment.
Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a meta-analysis by searching 4 databases (Web of Science, APA PsycINFO, Proquest, and PubMed) for empirical studies based on inoculation theory and outcome measure-related misinformation published in the English language. Moderator analyses were used to examine the differences in intervention strategy, intervention type, theme, measurement time, team, and intervention design.
Based on 42 independent studies with 42,530 subjects, we found that psychological inoculation effectively reduces misinformation credibility assessment (d=-0.36, 95% CI -0.50 to -0.23; P<.001) and improves real information credibility assessment (d=0.20, 95% CI 0.06-0.33; P=.005) and real information sharing intention (d=0.09, 95% CI 0.03-0.16; P=.003). However, psychological inoculation does not significantly influence misinformation sharing intention (d=-0.35, 95% CI -0.79 to 0.09; P=.12). Additionally, we find that psychological inoculation effectively enhances credibility discernment (d=0.20, 95% CI 0.13-0.28; P<.001) and sharing discernment (d=0.18, 95% CI 0.12-0.24; P<.001). Regarding health misinformation, psychological inoculation effectively decreases misinformation credibility assessment and misinformation sharing intention. The results of the moderator analyses showed that content-based, passive inoculation was more effective in increasing credibility and sharing intention. The theme of climate change demonstrates a stronger effect on real information credibility. Comparing intervention types showed that pre-post interventions are more effective for misinformation credibility assessment, while post-only interventions are better for credibility discernment.
This study indicated that psychological inoculation enhanced individuals' ability to discern real information from misinformation and share real information. Incorporating psychological inoculation to cultivate an informed public is crucial for societal resilience against misinformation threats in an age of information proliferation. As a scalable and cost-effective intervention strategy, institutions can apply psychological inoculation to mitigate potential misinformation crises.
错误信息的流行对个人的日常生活构成了实质性威胁，因此需要采取有效的补救措施。一种有前途的策略是心理免疫接种，它预先使个体免受错误信息攻击。然而，心理免疫接种在多大程度上有效地增强了区分错误信息和真实信息的能力仍存在不确定性。
为了降低数字健康错误信息的潜在风险，本研究旨在检验心理免疫接种在应对错误信息方面的有效性，重点关注错误信息可信度评估、真实信息可信度评估、可信度辨别、错误信息分享意图、真实信息分享意图和分享辨别等几个因素。
本研究遵循系统评价和荟萃分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）指南，通过检索 Web of Science、APA PsycINFO、Proquest 和 PubMed 这 4 个数据库，以接种理论为基础，针对与错误信息相关的结果测量，对英文发表的实证研究进行了荟萃分析。使用调节分析来检验干预策略、干预类型、主题、测量时间、团队和干预设计方面的差异。
基于 42 项独立研究和 42530 名受试者，我们发现心理免疫接种可有效降低错误信息可信度评估（d=-0.36，95%置信区间-0.50 至-0.23；P<.001），并提高真实信息可信度评估（d=0.20，95%置信区间 0.06-0.33；P=.005）和真实信息分享意图（d=0.09，95%置信区间 0.03-0.16；P=.003）。然而，心理免疫接种对错误信息分享意图的影响并不显著（d=-0.35，95%置信区间-0.79 至 0.09；P=.12）。此外，我们发现心理免疫接种可有效提高可信度辨别（d=0.20，95%置信区间 0.13-0.28；P<.001）和分享辨别（d=0.18，95%置信区间 0.12-0.24；P<.001）。对于健康错误信息，心理免疫接种可有效降低错误信息可信度评估和错误信息分享意图。调节分析结果表明，基于内容的被动免疫接种在提高可信度和分享意图方面更有效。气候变化主题对真实信息可信度的影响更强。比较干预类型表明，前后干预对错误信息可信度评估更有效，而仅后干预对可信度辨别更好。
本研究表明，心理免疫接种增强了个体辨别真实信息和分享真实信息的能力。培养知情公众对于在信息泛滥的时代抵御错误信息威胁至关重要。作为一种可扩展且具有成本效益的干预策略，机构可以应用心理免疫接种来减轻潜在的错误信息危机。
