Profile
Project Title: Crisis of Credibility, from Belief to Truth: Exploring Cognitive Mechanisms of Information Integration and Reliability.
Summary: In today's digital landscape, we are inundated with vast amounts of information, making it difficult to discern truth from falsehood. This influx from news, social media, and even trusted friends has created a credibility crisis. The challenge lies not only in the overwhelming volume, but also in the varying reliability of sources. As misinformation spreads, our ability to make informed decisions is compromised, yet the cognitive processes behind how individuals judge information as real or fake remain poorly understood.
This project investigates the relationship between prior beliefs, information reliability, and cognitive processes, and how they shape how we integrate new information. Drawing on computational neuroscience, neuroeconomics, and social psychology, it examines how beliefs act as filters, influencing whether new evidence is accepted or rejected. Using Bayesian models, the study simulates how beliefs are updated based on new data, shedding light on the mechanisms of belief formation and change.
It also examines social factors such as group identity and motivated reasoning that contribute to belief polarisation and reinforce false beliefs even in the face of contradictory evidence and explores the impact of cognitive shortcuts and heuristics.
Ultimately, the research aims to improve our understanding of how belief systems and biases influence judgments. The findings will inform efforts to combat misinformation and promote more accurate information evaluation in an increasingly polarised digital landscape, where truth is often shaped by personal and group beliefs rather than scientific consensus.
Supervisor: