Political misperceptions are beliefs about factual political matters that are inconsistent with the best available evidence. They include both the acceptance of false claims and the rejection of true claims. Unlike misinformation (which emphasizes the source of a false claim), misperceptions emphasize the individual's inaccurate mental model — they may arise from exposure to misinformation, but also from selective exposure, motivated reasoning, ideological bias, or limited information-seeking.
Key papers
- 2021-garrett-conservatives-susceptibility-to-political-misperceptions — Shows that conservatives are significantly less able to distinguish true from false political claims than liberals; the political information environment explains part of this gap, but ideology remains a strong predictor
Related topics
- belief-accuracy — broader topic on how accurately people hold factual beliefs
- ideological-bias — how ideology shapes belief formation
- misinformation-spread — how false claims propagate
- political-polarization — how polarization correlates with divergent beliefs
- motivated-reasoning — psychological mechanisms driving belief distortion
Papers on this topic
Psychology & interventionsDetection methods
Conservatives' susceptibility to political misperceptions
Detection methodsPsychology & interventions
The Nature and Origins of Misperceptions: Understanding False and Unsupported Beliefs about Politics
Detection methodsPsychology & interventions
From WMDs to the vaccine-autism myth: Understanding misperceptions in politics and health care
Detection methodsPsychology & interventions
When Corrections Fail: The Persistence of Political Misperceptions
Detection methodsPlatforms, policy & society
Facts and Myths about Misperceptions
Detection methodsPsychology & interventions
The Nature and Origins of Misperceptions: Understanding False and Unsupported Beliefs about Politics
Detection methodsPsychology & interventions
From WMDs to the vaccine-autism myth: Understanding misperceptions in politics and health care
Detection methodsPsychology & interventions
When Corrections Fail: The Persistence of Political Misperceptions
Detection methodsPlatforms, policy & society
Facts and Myths about Misperceptions