Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychological Science

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

McIntyre, Miranda

Abstract

Misinformation has become increasingly difficult to combat in the digital age. The current study tested a model exploring the relationships between self-regulation, habitual social media use, construal level, and propagation of misinformation. Drawing from previous research, I hypothesized that individuals with higher self-regulation would exhibit lower susceptibility to misinformation sharing. I also hypothesized that habitual social media use mediates the relationship between self-regulation and misinformation sharing. In addition, I introduced construal level priming as an experimental intervention, where individuals primed with abstract construal levels may demonstrate more discerning information processing, thereby reducing the likelihood of misinformation sharing. Results from data analyses indicated that self-regulation is negatively associated with misinformation sharing. However, habitual media usage did not mediate the relationship between self-regulation and misinformation sharing, and construal level priming did not moderate the relationship between self-regulation and misinformation sharing, and between habitual social media usage and misinformation sharing. Potential causes of these non-significant associations are discussed.

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