Is susceptibility to misinformation associated with political preference and is this relationship moderated by the need to belong?

Given the increasing reliance on social media for news consumption, understanding the psychological and ideological factors that influence susceptibility to misinformation has become increasingly important. This study examined whether political preference predicts individuals’ susceptibility to misinformation and whether this relationship is moderated by the need to belong. Additionally, gender differences were explored. A correlational design was used with 399 participants (205 men, 193 women, 1 non-binary; Mₐge = 24.70, SD = 3.58) recruited from the United Kingdom and the United States via the Prolific platform. Participants completed the MIST-20 (Maertens et al., 2020) to assess susceptibility to misinformation, a single-item political preference scale ranging from extremely left-wing to extremely right-wing, and the Need to Belong Scale (Leary et al., 2001, 2005). Linear regression analyses revealed that political direction significantly predicted susceptibility to...Show moreGiven the increasing reliance on social media for news consumption, understanding the psychological and ideological factors that influence susceptibility to misinformation has become increasingly important. This study examined whether political preference predicts individuals’ susceptibility to misinformation and whether this relationship is moderated by the need to belong. Additionally, gender differences were explored. A correlational design was used with 399 participants (205 men, 193 women, 1 non-binary; Mₐge = 24.70, SD = 3.58) recruited from the United Kingdom and the United States via the Prolific platform. Participants completed the MIST-20 (Maertens et al., 2020) to assess susceptibility to misinformation, a single-item political preference scale ranging from extremely left-wing to extremely right-wing, and the Need to Belong Scale (Leary et al., 2001, 2005). Linear regression analyses revealed that political direction significantly predicted susceptibility to misinformation: individuals with more right-leaning political orientations demonstrated poorer veracity discernment. In contrast, political extremity did not predict susceptibility. The need to belong showed a small positive association with veracity discernment but did not moderate the relationship between political preference and susceptibility to misinformation. Gender also did not significantly predict misinformation susceptibility when included alongside the other predictors. These findings indicate that ideological orientation, rather than ideological strength or social belonging needs, plays a more substantial role in shaping susceptibility to misinformation among young adults. The results align with theories of motivated reasoning, which propose that individuals are more likely to accept information congruent with their pre-existing beliefs. Understanding these ideological influences is important for designing misinformation interventions, particularly for young adults who rely heavily on digital media for political information. Future research should incorporate multidimensional measures of political ideology and examine additional psychological moderators—such as partisan identity, media trust, or motivated reasoning—that may further explain individual differences in sensitivity to misinformation.Show less

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Is susceptibility to misinformation associated with political preference and is this relationship moderated by the need to belong?