Fake news can distort people’s beliefs even after being
debunked. A study recently published in the journal Intelligence
suggests that some people may have an especially difficult
time rejecting misinformation. Asked to rate a fictitious person
on a range of character traits, people who scored low on a test
of cognitive ability continued to be influenced by damaging
information about the person even after they were explicitly
told the information was false. The study is significant because
it identifies what may be a major risk factor for vulnerability to
fake news.
One possible explanation for this finding is based on the
theory that a person’s cognitive ability reflects how well they
can regulate the contents of working memory – their “mental
workspace” for processing information. First proposed by the
cognitive psychologists Lynn Hasher and Rose Zacks, this
theory holds that some people are more prone to “mental
clutter” than other people. In other words, some people
are less able to discard (or “inhibit”) information from their
working memory that is no longer relevant to the task at
hand, or information that has been discredited. Research
on cognitive aging indicates that, in adulthood, this ability
declines considerably with advancing age, suggesting that
older adults may also be especially vulnerable to fake news.
Another reason why cognitive ability may predict vulnerability
to fake news is that it correlates highly with education.
Through education, people may develop meta-cognitive skills
– strategies for monitoring and regulating one’s own thinking
– that can be used to combat the effects of misinformation.
(www.scientificamerican.com, 06.02.2018. Adaptado.)
Considere o trecho do segundo parágrafo “Research
on cognitive aging indicates that, in adulthood, this ability
declines considerably”. O termo sublinhado é empregado
com o mesmo sentido em:
