Among cognitive factors that can influence the endorsement of pseudoscientific beliefs, our study focuses on proneness to false memory generation. In this preregistered study, we presented 170 fluent English speakers residing in the USA with a misinformation task aimed at generating false memories. In this task, they first completed an event…

Corrections are a frequently used and effective tool for countering misinformation. However, concerns have been raised that corrections may introduce false claims to new audiences when the misinformation is novel. This is because boosting the familiarity of a claim can increase belief in that claim, and thus exposing new audiences to novel…

Misinformation surrounding COVID-19 spread rapidly and widely, posing a significant threat to public health. Here, we examined whether some types of misinformation are more believable than others, to the extent that they offer people hope in uncertain times. An initial group of subjects rated a series of COVID-19 misinformation statements for…

In the educational context, there are numerous "neuromyths" about how findings from neuroscience can be used to improve teaching and learning. International research has shown that the majority of teachers tend to believe in these and use them in the classroom. Since the belief in neuromyths might not enhance or even have adverse effects…

The efficacy of fake news corrections in improving memory and belief accuracy may depend on how often adults see false information before it is corrected. Two experiments tested the competing predictions that repeating fake news before corrections will either impair or improve memory and belief accuracy. These experiments also examined whether…

The 21st century has been riven by information challenges, from mis/disinformation campaigns, fake news, and propaganda to online conspiracy theories. At a time when more people are literate than perhaps at any other time in history, we still see the rise and viral global spread of unhinged conspiracy theories across the web. The existence of such…

Fact-checkers want people to both read and remember their misinformation debunks. Retrieval practice is one way to increase memory, thus multiple-choice quizzes may be a useful tool for fact-checkers. We tested whether exposure to quizzes improved people's accuracy ratings for fact-checked claims and their memory for specific information within a…

This study explores the link between knowledge and skills related to online information consumption and implications for fake news beliefs and support for censorship. The goal of this project was to explore the link between media instruction and students' news beliefs and attitudes. In particular, survey participants were asked about fake news…

Post-truth strategies are characterized by the manipulation of facts and personal assertions of the truth for political gain. By seeding polarization, skepticism, and mistrust, post-truth presents challenges to teaching and learning within academic settings. In this paper, we explore how post-truth is articulated in higher education literature…

Media literacy has been gaining traction as a part of higher education curricula to support learning as educational institutions are recognizing the importance of developing students' media literacy skills. However, students' emotional reactions towards media literacy can be vastly different and, in turn, may impact their perception of truth and…

Recently, the spread of false information has increased with a veracity that the World Economic Forum referred to as a global threat, with multiple scholars confirming this threat (Burmester & Howard, 2022; Howell, 2013; Saling et al., 2021; Salzman, 2022; Shearer & Mitchell,2021; Yaqub et al., 2022). The spread of false information…

Fake news can have enduring effects on memory and beliefs. An ongoing theoretical debate has investigated whether corrections (fact-checks) should include reminders of fake news. The familiarity backfire account proposes that reminders hinder correction (increasing interference), whereas integration-based accounts argue that reminders facilitate…

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) refers to the psychological experience of individuals mistakenly perceiving themselves as incompetent, despite external evidence of their success. Research has highlighted the prevalence of impostor feelings within academic settings, particularly among women. To better understand the gender gap in academia, our…

Informed scientific thinking is a vital component of engaging all socioscientific issues (SSI) such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, socioscientific engagement may be influenced by sociocultural factors and mis/disinformation efforts to the widespread detriment of human and environmental well-being. The purpose of this…

"I got the vaccine, and it gave me COVID!" said the elderly woman who was vaccinated the day prior to her emergency department visit. A woman in her 50s, sitting at the bedside of her husband who is profoundly short of breath and barely able to speak due to COVID, states that neither of them will ever get vaccinated because "We…