Non-strategic detection of identity-threatening information: Epistemic validation and identity defense may share a common cognitive basis
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-301019
- Readers use prior knowledge to evaluate the validity of statements and detect false information without effort and strategic control. The present study expands this research by exploring whether people also non-strategically detect information that threatens their social identity. Participants (N = 77) completed a task in which they had to respond to a “True” or “False” probe after reading true, false, identity-threatening, or non-threatening sentences. Replicating previous studies, participants reacted more slowly to a positive probe (“True”)Readers use prior knowledge to evaluate the validity of statements and detect false information without effort and strategic control. The present study expands this research by exploring whether people also non-strategically detect information that threatens their social identity. Participants (N = 77) completed a task in which they had to respond to a “True” or “False” probe after reading true, false, identity-threatening, or non-threatening sentences. Replicating previous studies, participants reacted more slowly to a positive probe (“True”) after reading false (vs. true) sentences. Notably, participants also reacted more slowly to a positive probe after reading identity-threatening (vs. non-threatening) sentences. These results provide first evidence that identity-threatening information, just as false information, is detected at a very early stage of information processing and lends support to the notion of a routine, non-strategic identity-defense mechanism.…
Author: | Johanna Abendroth, Peter Nauroth, Tobias Richter, Mario Gollwitzer |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-301019 |
Document Type: | Journal article |
Faculties: | Fakultät für Humanwissenschaften (Philos., Psycho., Erziehungs- u. Gesell.-Wissensch.) / Institut für Psychologie |
Language: | English |
Parent Title (English): | PLoS ONE |
Year of Completion: | 2022 |
Volume: | 17 |
Issue: | 1 |
Article Number: | e0261535 |
Source: | PLoS ONE 17(1):e0261535. DOI: 10.1371/journal. pone.0261535 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261535 |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |
Tag: | cognitive basis; identity defense; social identity |
Release Date: | 2023/02/23 |
Collections: | Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2022 |
Licence (German): | CC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International |