Gaps in source knowledge hinder source-credibility judgments, particularly inferences about benevolence¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Lower secondary school students found it particularly difficult to infer the benevolence of fictitious Twitter profiles from affiliation information, attributed to a lack of source knowledge. → Carita Kiili 2026 q2 i? Reading social media posts whose source message contradicted the expected argument position took longer than reading aligned messages, suggesting readers use organization-specific source knowledge during validation. → Carita Kiili 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Carita Kiili 2026¶

Carita Kiili, Ivar Bråten, and Julie Coiro. (2026). The framework of prior knowledge in online credibility evaluation. Educational Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2717081

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

The review reports, citing Abel et al. (2024), an experiment in which lower and upper secondary students judged fictitious Twitter profiles with manipulated expertise and benevolence; "Making inferences about benevolence was particularly difficult for lower secondary school students." No effect size is printed.

"In their study, lower and upper secondary school students were asked to judge the trustworthiness of fictitious Twitter profiles. The profiles’ expertise and benevolence were manipulated, requiring students to infer benevolence based on the profiles’ affiliation. Making inferences about benevolence was particularly difficult for lower secondary school students."

Carita Kiili 2026 (2)¶

Carita Kiili, Ivar Bråten, and Julie Coiro. (2026). The framework of prior knowledge in online credibility evaluation. Educational Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2026.2717081

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

The review reports, citing Wertgen and Richter (2023), a reading-time finding: posts whose "source message contradicted the expected argument position" took longer to read than aligned messages, suggesting readers use source knowledge about specific organizations in validation. No effect size is printed.

"reading short social media posts where the source message contradicted the expected argument position (e.g., a WWF message opposing climate change) took longer than reading messages aligned with the expected argument position."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Critical Thinking — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Online genre knowledge shapes credibility expectations and guides credibility evaluations — related
• Prior knowledge can hinder credibility evaluation through selective attention and overconfidence — related
• Less skilled comprehenders' inference failures stem more from incorrect premise recall, whereas skilled comprehenders fail more at integrating recalled information — related
• Low-SES students, but not high-SES students, generate stereotype-consistent inferences linking targets' social class and memory ability — related