Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

1387

Date

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Psychology

Concentration

General Psychology

Committee Chair

Jason Braasch

Committee Member

Roger Kreuz

Committee Member

Craig Stewart

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of individual differences in the acquisition of information from fictional texts. Using the established misinformation paradigm, information was embedded in implausible or plausible stories and framed in accurate, misleading, or neutral statements. Participants (N = 101) were asked ro read six stories and give ratings of perceived realism and transportation for each story and then complete a general knowledge test that included 36 target items. It was hypothesized that question difficulty, fact framing, and the plausibility of story context would all influence the amount of correct and incorrect information gathered from the stories but that perceived realism and transportation would also significantly influence this information. Results showed replication of effects for difficulty and facting framing but not for story plausibility. Implications of the findings and potential directiosn for further research are discussed in terms of clarifying how reader charactersitics contribute to knowledge acquisition.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

Download

Share

COinS