Susceptibility to misinformation as a signal detection problem

Why do people fall for misinformation, and what can be done about it? The current article reviews a programme of research that has used a signal-detection framework to identify three distinct factors in truth judgements of true and false information: (a) accurate discernment of true and false information (truth sensitivity); (b) a general tendency to judge information as true versus false (overall threshold); and (c) a tendency to accept information that is congruent versus incongruent with one’s views (myside bias). A first level of analysis addresses whether people accept false information as true due to low truth sensitivity, low overall threshold, or myside bias. A second level of analysis addresses the psychological determinants of truth sensitivity, overall threshold, and myside bias. The current article reviews key findings at each level of analysis and discusses their implications for why people fall for misinformation and what could be done about it.