Youth Judgments of Statement Accuracy

This study investigates youth judgments of the accuracy of truth claims tied to controversial public issues. Consistent with research on motivated reasoning, results showed that youth assessments depended on (a) the alignment of the claim with one’s prior policy position and to a lesser extent on (b) whether the post included an inaccurate statement. To consider ways educators might improve judgments of accuracy, the researchers investigated the influence of political knowledge and exposure to media literacy education. They found that political knowledge did not improve judgments of accuracy but that media literacy education did. Given this information, educators can work to shape their approach to presenting information to studnts in order to better support avenues to academic success.

Kahne, J., & Bowyer, B. (2017). Educating for democracy in a partisan age: Confronting the challenges of motivated reasoning and misinformation. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 3-34. https://dx.doi.org/10.3102/0002831216679817