Cyberpsychology: Social Media & the spread of Misinformation Laura Joyner - l.joyner@westminster.ac.uk What kind of activities might involve ‘using digital technology’? Start sharing your ideas here ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ www.PollEv.com/laurajoyner144 Overview • Cyberpsychology + Social Media • What is Cyberpsychology? • Social Media + Social Psychology • Disinformation + Misinformation • What are they? • Can social psychology help us understand why people spread misinformation? What is Cyberpsychology? The BPS (n.d.) defines Cyberpsychology as “a scientific inter-disciplinary domain that focuses on the psychological phenomena which emerge as a result of the human interaction with digital technology, particularly the internet” What do you think counts as ‘using digital technology’? Share your ideas here ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ www.PollEv.com/laurajoyner144 Research Interests Cyberpsychologists are interested in questions such as: • What motivations are there for using technology • How do we interact with others using technology • What effects and impacts are associated with using technology What makes social media unique • Individuals create profiles for these platforms • Platforms focus on featuring user-generated content • Profiles can be connected to other profiles (e.g. individuals / groups), facilitating social networks The information shared on social media platforms is social Applying Social Psychology to Social Media Cyberpsychologists “apply core theoretical principles to online settings and, in some cases, seek to derive new theoretical understanding of these experiences” (Kaye, 2022) • A researcher is interested in looking at the effects of having an anonymous profile on user behaviour in online group environments: Which theory from social psychology may help them with this question? Why do people spread disinformation on social media? Disinformation or Misinformation? • Disinformation is false or misleading information o It is deliberately created / spread for personal, political or financial gain, or to cause harm o Disinformation does not only exist on social media • ‘Misinformation’ is the term used when someone encounters inaccurate information but does not know it is untrue ‘The Great Hack’ Identity expression + Misinformation - Disinformation creators can target different groups with content tailored to their identity. This appears to be effective strategy for generating user-engagement. - How strongly a person identifies with a group can influence ability to identify and likelihood of spreading misinformation (Anthony & Moulding, 2019; Joyner, Yetkili & Buchanan, 2022) Social Identity Theory - We are motivated to ensure we feel our our in-groups are positively distinct from other groups (Tajfel & Turner, 2004) - Social comparison strategies can help people achieve this: - Social competition – the in-group is evaluated favourably compared to an out- compared to an out-group - Social creativity – expressing positive qualities which are unique to the group unique to the group - Users can use social media to express their identity in different ways: from sharing relevant posts, to ‘liking’ relevant content Social creativity + Misinformation - Social creativity – expressing positive qualities which are unique to the group NEGATIVE POSITIVE (Joyner, Yetkili & Buchanan, 2022) Social creativity + Misinformation 'DISINFORMATION’ 'MISINFORMATION’ (Joyner, Yetkili & Buchanan, 2022) Moral acceptability of spreading Social creativity + Misinformation Positively framed Negatively framed (Joyner, Yetkili & Buchanan, 2022) Likelihood of spreading Social creativity + Misinformation Positively framed Negatively framed (Joyner, Yetkili & Buchanan, 2022) Social competition + Misinformation - Facebook users tend to use positive reactions to engage with posts about their in-group, but may use negative reactions to engage with posts about out- Attitudes + Misinformation 1. Research suggests users are more likely to spread attitude-consistent misinformation 2. May also judge attitude-consistent misinformation as more accurate, credible and believable 3. Attitude-consistency may also influence whether users feel spreading misinformation is right or wrong ABC Model of Attitudes (Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive) Cognitive component of attitudes (e.g. beliefs and perceptions) could influence perceptions) could influence intentions to spread of misinformation. (Towards UK Government) Trust in UK government’s handling of COVID-19 TRUST + - UNFAVOURABLE (Towards UK Government) Joyner, Buchanan & Yetkili (2022) MAXIMISING (Risk of COVID-19) + RISK FAVOURABLE - MINIMISING (Risk of COVID-19) Perceived risk of COVID-19 Attitudes + Misinformation Cognitive - Levels of belief consistency predicted intentions to interact with misinformation - Levels of belief consistency also predicted how morally acceptable participants felt misinformation was to spread - Before learning the misinformation was false - After learning the misinformation was false - Moral judgements helped explain why people were more likely to spread belief-consistent misinformation Moral acceptability Belief consistency Intentions to Spread Joyner, Buchanan & Yetkili (2022) Attitudes + Misinformation 1. Research suggests users are more likely to spread attitude-consistent misinformation 2. May also judge attitude-consistent misinformation as more accurate, credible and believable 3. Attitude-consistency may also influence whether users feel spreading misinformation is right or wrong ABC Model of Attitudes (Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive) Affective component of attitudes (e.g. feelings and emotions) could influence could influence intentions to spread of misinformation. Attitudes + Misinformation Affective Feelings about an issue or event can play an important role in whether misinformation is believed: - Negative feelings about Brexit amplified biases in identifying real and fake Brexit-related headlines. (Joyner & Fidalgo, 2020) - People are more likely to believe misinformation that confirms their feelings towards an object (e.g. positive or negative). (Sanchez & Dunning, 2021) May also be expressed through engagement with misinformation: - Higher levels of anger or disgust towards misinformation (Vosoughi et al., 2018; Barfar, 2019) Resources https://sharechecklist.gov.uk/ Checklist created by UK government to help you spot false information online https://fullfact.org/ UK fact checking charity https://www.wikihow.com/Course/Howto-Fight-Disinformation-Online Short online course in partnership with the United Nations to help you learn how to spot disinformation Any questions Laura Joyner ? l.joyner@westminster.ac.uk Further Reading • Ancis, J. R. (2020). The Age of Cyberpsychology: An Overview. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000009 • Kaye, L. (2022). Issues and Debates in Cyberpsychology. Oxford University Press. • van der Linden, S. (2022). Misinformation: susceptibility, spread, and interventions to immunize the public. Nature Medicine, 28(3), 460-467. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01713-6 • Pereira, A., Harris, E., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2021). Identity concerns drive belief: The impact of partisan identity on the belief and dissemination of true and false news. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302211030004 Reference s • Anthony, A., & Moulding, R. (2019). Breaking the news: Belief in fake news and conspiracist beliefs. Australian journal of psychology, 71(2), 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12233 • Barfar, A. (2019). Cognitive and affective responses to political disinformation in Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 101, 173-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.07.026 • Brandtzæg, P. B., Staksrud, E., Hagen, I., & Wold, T. (2009). Norwegian children's experiences of cyberbullying when using different technological platforms. Journal of Children and Media, 3(4), 349-365. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482790903233366 • British Psychological Society (n.d.). Cyberpsychology Section. https://www.bps.org.uk/member-networks/cyberpsychology-section • Freelon, D., Bossetta, M., Wells, C., Lukito, J., Xia, Y., & Adams, K. (2022). Black trolls matter: Racial and ideological asymmetries in social media disinformation. Social Science Computer Review, 40(3), 560-578. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439320914853 • Howard, P. N., Ganesh, B., Liotsiou, D., Kelly, J., & François, C. (2019). The IRA, social media and political polarization in the United States, 2012-2018. Computational Propaganda Research Project. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/senatedocs/1/ • Joyner & Fidalgo (2020). The impact of ‘Strexit’? Analytical thinking and negative emotions towards Brexit predict politically biased judgements of real and fake news headlines [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Psychology, University of East London. • Joyner, Buchanan & Yetkili (2022). Social media users more lenient towards and more likely to spread disinformation consistent with issue-specific beliefs [Manuscript submitted for publication]. School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster. • Joyner, Yetkili & Buchanan (2022). Political ideology may help explain group-differences in moral evaluations of disinformation [Manuscript in preparation]. School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster. • Kaye, L. (2022). Issues and Debates in Cyberpsychology. Oxford University Press. • Pereira, A., Harris, E., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2021). Identity concerns drive belief: The impact of partisan identity on the belief and dissemination of true and false news. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13684302211030004. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302211030004 • Rathje, S., Van Bavel, J. J., & Van Der Linden, S. (2021). Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(26), e2024292118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024292118 • Rösner, L., & Krämer, N. C. (2016). Verbal venting in the social web: Effects of anonymity and group norms on aggressive language use in online comments. Social Media+ Society, 2 (3), https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116664220 • Sanchez, C., & Dunning, D. (2021). Cognitive and emotional correlates of belief in political misinformation: Who endorses partisan misbeliefs? Emotion, 21(5), 1091–1102. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000948 • Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2004). The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In J. T. Jost & J. Sidanius (Eds.), Political psychology: Key readings (pp. 276–293). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505984-16 • Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. science, 359(6380), 1146-1151. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559
