Farooq Aqsa, Adlam Anna, Rutland Adam
University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Br J Dev Psychol. 2025 Sep;43(3):562-577. doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12544. Epub 2024 Dec 23.
Misinformation poses a significant threat to modern society. Children and adolescents, highly active on social media, are particularly vulnerable to encountering misinformation from peers. Assessing whether intentionality impacts moral evaluations of misinformers, considering age and group norms, is crucial. Theory of Mind (ToM) plays a key role in understanding false beliefs and intentions. In a study involving 266 UK-based children (8-11-years-old) and adolescents (12-15-years-old), participants evaluated a misinformer in a scenario involving a school competition. Deliberate misinformation led to harsher judgements and a higher likelihood of punishment. However, children tended to be more inclusive than adolescents regardless of intentionality. Adolescents with higher ToM believed in the misinformation less. Higher ToM correlated with harsher misinformer evaluations across the sample. These findings underscore the impact of intentionality, ToM and age on moral evaluations, suggesting that high ToM may mitigate positive feelings towards misinformers, potentially reducing misinformation acceptance.
错误信息对现代社会构成了重大威胁。儿童和青少年在社交媒体上非常活跃，特别容易从同龄人那里接触到错误信息。考虑到年龄和群体规范，评估意图是否会影响对错误信息传播者的道德评价至关重要。心理理论（ToM）在理解错误信念和意图方面起着关键作用。在一项涉及266名英国儿童（8至11岁）和青少年（12至15岁）的研究中，参与者在一个涉及学校竞赛的场景中对一名错误信息传播者进行了评估。故意传播错误信息会导致更严厉的判断和更高的惩罚可能性。然而，无论意图如何，儿童往往比青少年更具包容性。心理理论水平较高的青少年对错误信息的信任度较低。在整个样本中，较高的心理理论水平与对错误信息传播者更严厉的评价相关。这些发现强调了意图、心理理论和年龄对道德评价的影响，表明较高的心理理论水平可能会减轻对错误信息传播者的好感，从而有可能减少对错误信息的接受。
