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Review
. 2024 Feb:55:101752.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101752. Epub 2023 Nov 17.

Personality and misinformation

Dustin P Calvillo  1 , Alex León  2 , Abraham M Rutchick  3
Affiliations
Review

Personality and misinformation

Dustin P Calvillo et al. Curr Opin Psychol. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Misinformation poses a significant concern, promoting false beliefs and eroding trust in media. People differ in their susceptibility to believe and to share misinformation. In this article, we reviewed recent research on relationships between personality traits and belief in and sharing of misinformation. Findings show that more extroverted and less conscientious and agreeable people tend to be more susceptible to believing in and sharing misinformation. Additionally, the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism tend to be positively associated with sharing of misinformation, and narcissism and psychopathy are associated with greater belief in misinformation. Understanding these individual differences can inform interventions to reduce the effects of misinformation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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