Cognitive authority, emotions and information quality evaluations

Introduction. This exploratory study contributes to the research on information evaluation as well as emotions’ role in the process. The project was inspired by the cognitive authority theory by Patrick Wilson. Its goal was twofold, to explore: 1) if media may fulfil the role of cognitive authority, and 2) if (and to what extend) emotional reactions to specific citations depend on the presented source of information. Method. We conducted exploratory research using biometric methods (face-tracking and eye-tracking), completed by a questionnaire survey, to examine the influence of a source on the information assessment process. The research sample consisted of 100 respondents of similar sociocultural background: students of journalism. Analysis. Intensity of emotional reactions (mimic expressions) to presented texts was recorded and measured with the FaceReader. Statistical data were collected and calculated, concerning reactions for 6 emotions (joy, anger, disgust, surprise, sadness, fear), as well as information evaluation expressed in a survey. Results. The results confirm importance of institutional source in contents’ assessment, as we observed changes in emotional attitudes towards information at the moment its source is known. The questionnaire also confirmed relations between emotional attitude and evaluation of information credibility. Conclusion. The study confirmed the role of medium as a cognitive authority. We observed common (for the research sample) trends in perceiving selected sources as more credible than others. The results showed also a higher level of negative emotions for information from a source evaluated as less credible. The results showed also that (as for statistically significant differences in the research sample) a higher level of negative emotions was observed for information from a source evaluated as less credible.