The Role of Emotional Words in Misinformation Retention
Disciplines
Cognitive Psychology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
The emotion–memory effect suggests that people remember emotional words more vividly than neutral ones. This tendency may help explain why sensationalized news is often remembered and accepted as fact. The present study examines how emotional language influences the retention of misinformation. We predict that misinformation containing emotional words will be remembered more accurately than misinformation using neutral words. In a between-subjects mixed design, participants (N = 35) will read a set of 40-word passages that contain either neutral or emotional words, all conveying misinformation. Emotional words will be categorized by intensity (low, medium, or high). Word recall will be assessed through a recognition test, and participants’ emotional states (afraid, happy, angry) will be rated on a Likert scale (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely). We will have data by the time the Symposium takes place. We expect memory accuracy to increase with the intensity of emotional language (i.e., highest for passages with highly emotional words, followed by medium and low intensity). If supported, these findings would suggest that emotional words enhance the retention of misinformation, providing insight into the persuasive power of emotional language in media. Increasing awareness of this effect may help improve media literacy and critical evaluation of emotionally charged information. Future research will expand the sample size and include social media-based misinformation contexts.
Use of AI Disclaimer
no
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS – Psychological Science
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ebony Glover
The Role of Emotional Words in Misinformation Retention
The emotion–memory effect suggests that people remember emotional words more vividly than neutral ones. This tendency may help explain why sensationalized news is often remembered and accepted as fact. The present study examines how emotional language influences the retention of misinformation. We predict that misinformation containing emotional words will be remembered more accurately than misinformation using neutral words. In a between-subjects mixed design, participants (N = 35) will read a set of 40-word passages that contain either neutral or emotional words, all conveying misinformation. Emotional words will be categorized by intensity (low, medium, or high). Word recall will be assessed through a recognition test, and participants’ emotional states (afraid, happy, angry) will be rated on a Likert scale (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely). We will have data by the time the Symposium takes place. We expect memory accuracy to increase with the intensity of emotional language (i.e., highest for passages with highly emotional words, followed by medium and low intensity). If supported, these findings would suggest that emotional words enhance the retention of misinformation, providing insight into the persuasive power of emotional language in media. Increasing awareness of this effect may help improve media literacy and critical evaluation of emotionally charged information. Future research will expand the sample size and include social media-based misinformation contexts.