Gains,Limits,and Side-Effects of Disinformation Interventions: Corrective Information and Self-Affirmation Assessed With Signal Detection Theory

Abstract

This study examines the effects of corrective information and self-affirmation on evaluating political claims in two contexts: the Russian invasion of Ukraine and migration to Germany. In a two-wave online experiment in Germany (N = 1,275), participants were randomly assigned to receive corrective information, a self-affirmation task, both, or neither. Using signal detection theory, we distinguish sensitivity to truth (discernment) from response bias (general skepticism or credulity). Exposure to corrective information significantly improved participants’ truth discernment, with stronger effects for those with higher cognitive reflection test scores. At the same time, corrective information was associated with a shift in response bias for the Ukraine topic, indicating an increased tendency to classify statements as false overall. The self-affirmation intervention corrected an initially credulous response bias in the Ukraine topic, bringing evaluations closer to a balanced position around zero, while leaving responses in the migration domain unchanged. Overall, the findings highlight both the benefits and potential side effects of corrective information interventions and illustrate how psychological interventions can impact evaluative thresholds.

Keywords

disinformation corrections fact-checking self-affirmation signal detection theory

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