TY - CONF AU - Orosz, Gábor AU - Faragó, Laura AU - Krekó, Péter AU - Benedek, Paskuj TI - Long-Lasting Effects of a Prosocial Counter-Misinformation Intervention in an Informational Autocracy T2 - ICPS 2023 Poster Brochure PB - Association for Psychological Science C1 - Brussels PY - 2023 SP - 160 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34668662 ID - 34668662 LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - GEN AU - Krekó, Péter AU - Orosz, Gábor AU - Faragó, Laura AU - Zsila, Ágnes TI - The Viral Warfare – Uncovering the Connection between Conspiracy Theories on COVID and the War in Ukraine PY - 2023 DO - 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3359277/v1 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34180721 ID - 34180721 N1 - Research Square publication AB - During times of crisis, conspiracy theories tend to proliferate – especially in polarized political environments. Existing research has shown that both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have spawned a surge in conspiracy theories. However, there is a notable gap in academic research concerning the interconnection between these two sets of conspiracy theories. Our preregistered representative survey study conducted in Hungary (N = 1000) investigates the interconnections between conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and the moderating role of trust, conspiracy mentality, political preference, and socio-demographic variables in this relationship. Hungary, a nation marked by exceptionally high levels of tribal polarization, and plagued by pervasive disinformation presents an ideal case for examining the polarizing nature of conspiracy theories. Contrary to the prevailing notion that a generalized mistrust links unrelated conspiracy theories, the research finds that specific, logically unrelated conspiracy theories can be horizontally connected to each other. We found that conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines were strongly related to conspiracy theories about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This relationship persists independently of party preference, and neither mistrust in media nor Conspiracy Mentality can explain this relationship. Surprisingly, trust in domestic media positively predicted war-related conspiracy beliefs. These results, even if correlational, raise the possibility that conspiracy theories about COVID-19 (which preceded the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022) could serve as a "gateway theory," leading to the acceptance of war-related conspiracies. Our findings, in line with some previous research on “gateway theories” and the monological nature of conspiracy theories, suggest that communication interventions should address specific narratives rather than solely focusing on the “root cause” such as mistrust in institutions – which not always go hand in hand with conspiracy theorizing. Furthermore, building trust in official sources may worsen the problem in contexts where mainstream media spreads conspiracy theories. Thus, a nuanced, context-sensitive communication approach is essential in combating conspiracy theories effectively. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - CHAP AU - Krekó, Péter ED - Kende, Anna ED - Lášticová, Barbara TI - The Paranoid Style in East-Central European Politics T2 - The Psychology of Politically Unstable Societies PB - Routledge CY - London SN - 9781003282181 PY - 2023 SP - 49 EP - 64 PG - 16 DO - 10.4324/9781003282181-5 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34153602 ID - 34153602 LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - CHAP AU - Krekó, Péter TI - Escape From Uncertainty. To Conspiracy Theories and Pseudoscience TS - To Conspiracy Theories and Pseudoscience T2 - The Psychology of Insecurity PB - Routledge CY - New York, New York SN - 9781003317623 PY - 2023 SP - 349 EP - 367 PG - 19 DO - 10.4324/9781003317623-23 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34125849 ID - 34125849 LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - GEN ED - Fodor, Fanni ED - Krekó, Péter / Interviewed person ED - Varga, Attila / Interviewed person TI - A klímaváltozás tagadásának lélektana PY - 2023 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34123761 ID - 34123761 LA - Hungarian DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Falyuna, Nóra AU - Krekó, Péter TI - The Hypocrisy of Medical Disinformation: A Report from Hungary JF - THE SKEPTICAL INQUIRER J2 - SKEPTIC INQUIR VL - 47 PY - 2023 IS - 3 SP - 14 EP - 18 PG - 5 SN - 0194-6730 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/33899694 ID - 33899694 LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR ED - Csunderlik, Péter / Interviewed person ED - Krekó, Péter / Interviewed person ED - Tóta, W. Árpád / Interviewed person TI - Amikor benéz a valóság az ablakon. Csunderlik Péterrel, Krekó Péterrel és Tóta W. Árpáddal beszélget Herskovits Eszter TS - Csunderlik Péterrel, Krekó Péterrel és Tóta W. Árpáddal beszélget Herskovits Eszter JF - MOZGÓ VILÁG J2 - MOZGÓ VILÁG VL - 49 PY - 2023 IS - 1 SP - 5 EP - 21 PG - 17 SN - 0324-4601 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/33714000 ID - 33714000 LA - Hungarian DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Orosz, Gábor AU - Paskuj, Benedek AU - Faragó, Laura AU - Krekó, Péter TI - A prosocial fake news intervention with durable effects JF - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS J2 - SCI REP VL - 13 PY - 2023 IS - 1 PG - 11 SN - 2045-2322 DO - 10.1038/s41598-023-30867-7 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/33691196 ID - 33691196 AB - The present online intervention promoted family-based prosocial values—in terms of helping family members—among young adults to build resistance against fake news. This preregistered randomized controlled trial study is among the first psychological fake news interventions in Eastern Europe, where the free press is weak and state-sponsored misinformation runs riot in mainstream media. In this intervention, participants were endowed with an expert role and requested to write a letter to their digitally less competent relatives explaining six strategies that help fake news recognition. Compared to the active control group there was an immediate effect ( d = 0.32) that persisted until the follow-up four weeks later ( d = 0.22) on fake news accuracy ratings of the young, advice-giving participants. The intervention also reduced the bullshit receptivity of participants both immediately after the intervention and in the long run. The present work demonstrates the power of using relevant social bonds for motivating behavior change among Eastern European participants. Our prosocial approach with its robust grounding in human psychology might complement prior interventions in the fight against misinformation. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Faragó, Laura AU - Krekó, Péter AU - Orosz, Gábor TI - Hungarian, lazy, and biased: the role of analytic thinking and partisanship in fake news discernment on a Hungarian representative sample JF - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS J2 - SCI REP VL - 13 PY - 2023 IS - 1 SN - 2045-2322 DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-26724-8 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/33542535 ID - 33542535 AB - “Why do people believe blatantly inaccurate news headlines? Do we use our reasoning abilities to convince ourselves that statements that align with our ideology are true, or does reasoning allow us to effectively differentiate fake from real regardless of political ideology?” These were the questions of Pennycook and Rand (2019), and they are more than actual three years later in Eastern Europe (especially in Hungary) in the light of the rise of populism, and the ongoing war in Ukraine – with the flood of disinformation that follows. In this study, using a representative Hungarian sample ( N = 991) we wanted to answer the same questions—moving one step forward and investigating alternative models. We aimed to extend the original research with the examination of digital literacy and source salience on media truth discernment. Most of the observations of Pennycook and Rand were confirmed: people with higher analytic thinking were better at discerning disinformation. However, the results are in line with the synergistic integrative model as partisanship interacted with cognitive reflection: anti-government voters used their analytic capacities to question both concordant and discordant fake news more than pro-government voters. Furthermore, digital literacy increased detection, but source salience did not matter when perceiving disinformation. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - CHAP AU - Simon, Evelin AU - Krekó, Péter ED - Krekó, Péter ED - Falyuna, Nóra TI - Horoszkópok, áltudományos személyiségtesztek és bulvárpszichológia - Miért káros a görbe tükör? T2 - Sarlatánok kora. Miért dőlünk be az áltudományoknak? PB - Athenaeum CY - Budapest SN - 9789635431489 PY - 2022 SP - 214 EP - 233 PG - 20 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34152801 ID - 34152801 LA - Hungarian DB - MTMT ER -