The dissemination of inaccurate political information through social media has the potential to erode confidence in legitimate news sources and may exacerbate social tensions. According to a study led by Tom Buchanan from the University of Westminster in the UK, individuals with higher positive schizotypy scores are more prone to sharing false political information on social networks.
Sharing Political Misinformation on Social Media May Be Associated with Positive Schizotypy
In their research titled “Individual Differences in Sharing False Political Information on Social Media: Deliberate and Accidental Sharing, Motivations and Positive Schizotypy,” Professor Buchanan and colleagues investigated the factors distinguishing individuals who share false information on social media from those who do not and their underlying motivations.
Their research highlighted that individuals with higher scores on measures of positive Schizotypy are more inclined to propagate misinformation.
Explaining the concept, Professor Buchanan clarified, “Positive Schizotypy is the name given to a tendency to experience unusual thoughts of various kinds. This does not mean you have mental health problems - everyone has these kind of experiences. It’s just that some people have them more often than others. Sharing false information on social media, both accidentally and on purpose, seems to be related to this tendency.”
To arrive at their findings, the researchers conducted four separate studies involving a total of 1,916 US residents, ensuring no overlap of participants across studies.
The Methodology of the Four Studies in Research
Study one used a cross-sectional online survey to investigate how individual differences such as positive Schizotypy, conscientiousness, and decision-making style relate to users' self-reported tendencies to share false information.
Building upon the findings of study one, study two delved deeper into respondents' motivations for sharing false information. These motivations encompassed activism, manipulation, and entertainment among others.
In study three, participants underwent assessments of their individual differences and motivations, after which they were presented with a series of true and false political headlines. They were then asked to indicate their likelihood of sharing each headline and their perception of its truthfulness.
Lastly, study four analyzed real posts uploaded by participants to ascertain whether the factors identified in the previous studies associated with the real-world sharing of false material on the X platform.
Across their studies, the researchers consistently observed a connection between positive Schizotypy and the sharing of false information, whether accidentally or deliberately, albeit with small effect sizes. They hypothesized that this association might stem from positive Schizotypy's tendency to influence decision-making processes characterized more by intuition and occasional biases rather than reflective or deliberate thought.
Regarding motivations, the participants frequently cited raising awareness as their primary reason for sharing political information. This finding underscores the complex interplay between individual traits, motivations, and the dissemination of information on social media platforms.
"While a range of motivations for sharing political information online were associated with sharing false information, two appeared particularly important: a desire to share political stories to attack or manipulate others, and to share political stories in order to raise awareness. While individuals reported different motivations for sharing specific false stories, these two factors appeared to influence both deliberate and accidental sharing of false stories," the researchers explain in their paper.
The “Need for Chaos” Concept
The researchers highlight another significant factor influencing the sharing of false information: the "need for chaos." This concept reflects the inclination of certain individuals to disrupt societal norms with the intention of elevating their own status, particularly when they feel marginalized. Studies have demonstrated that this need for chaos motivates individuals to share hostile political information and to knowingly disseminate false information.
For academics, the objective is to deepen their understanding of the underlying motivations driving such behavior. They emphasize that exploring motivations in greater detail, alongside investigating the impacts of positive schizotypy, will be crucial for future research on misinformation.
Professor Buchanan explained: “We’ve all seen false political information on social media, but only a few of us choose to share it. This study showed that our specific motivations for sharing, as well as our individual psychological characteristics, are associated with sharing false material both accidentally and on purpose.”
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