“Lower intelligence and weaker analytic thinking skills are strongly and consistently associated with greater receptivity to misinformation and unsubstantiated claims, according to scientific research.”

A review of the research shows that critical thinking is a more inclusive construct than intelligence, going beyond what general cognitive ability can account for. For instance, critical thinking can more completely account for many everyday outcomes, such as how thinkers reject false conspiracy theories, paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, psychological misconceptions, and other unsubstantiated claims. Specifically, people who endorse unsubstantiated claims less tend to show better critical thinking skills, possess more relevant knowledge, and are more disposed to think critically.

Results show that insight problem solving predicts better identification of fake news and bullshit over and above traditional measures (the Cognitive Reflection Test), and is associated with reduced overclaiming. A recent study investigating COVID-19-related fake news revealed that better problem solving ability predicted correctly rating news headlines as real or fake, and reduced other forms of gullibility such as bullshit receptivity and overclaiming.

The tendency to ascribe profundity to randomly generated sentences (pseudo-profound bullshit receptivity) correlates positively with perceptions of fake news accuracy and negatively with the ability to differentiate between fake and real news. Analytic thinking correlates negatively with perceived accuracy of fake news. Individuals who overclaim their level of knowledge also judge fake news to be more accurate, suggesting that belief in fake news may be driven by a general tendency to be overly accepting of weak claims.

The results suggest that social media fatigue can influence false beliefs of misinformation which translates into sharing on social media. We also find that those with high levels of cognitive ability are less likely to believe and share misinformation. Accordingly, people with high cognitive ability levels are more likely to engage in more analytical thinking and be skeptical of misinformation and false news.[2]

Across almost all categories, higher levels of ability were associated with reduced susceptibility to misinformation. Out of the 23 findings included in the synthesis, 21 of these findings found that higher levels of the cognitive ability variable significantly reduced eyewitness susceptibility to misinformation to some extent. While there is no indication that any one trait provides total immunity to the misinformation effect, there is a reasonable amount of evidence to suggest that several cognitive abilities create variance in individual levels of susceptibility.[4]

A strong correlation was found in the pre-intervention phase between mastery of critical thinking concepts and the ability to identify misinformation and fakeness (R = 0.43, p < 0.0001). The findings suggest that while mastery of critical thinking is associated with greater resilience against misinformation. Understanding and correct application of critical thinking skills concepts highly correlate with the proficiency in identifying fakeness and misinformation.

A meta-analysis of 54 studies (N = 33,814) found that intellectual humility is related to stronger critical-thinking abilities, including cognitive flexibility and intelligence. IH is related to less dogmatism and more discernment on measures of overclaiming and bullshit receptivity. The relationship between intellectual humility and lower misinformation belief is strongest when using comprehensive measures that capture metacognitive, relational, and emotional features, with lack of intellectual overconfidence showing the strongest link to lower misinformation belief.

Across two samples with a total of 1,973 participants, analytic thinking ability was typically associated with the rejection of misinformation, largely irrespective of ideological alignment. The study extended prior research by examining both fake news and hyperpartisan news, finding that analytic thinking ability is generally protective against both forms of misinformation.

Many studies show that individuals who think reflectively (i.e., analytically, deliberately) are less inclined to believe in conspiracy theories compared to individuals who think intuitively (i.e., experientially), showing that cognitive reflection can act as a buffer against conspiracy beliefs.[5]

Susceptibility to misinformation shows individual differences based on experience. For example, educational attainment, analytical reasoning, and numeracy skills can increase resistance to misinformation. Detecting false information is difficult, but analytical reasoning helps resist it.

Higher cognitive ability is generally linked to less susceptibility to misinformation (Keersmaecker & Roets, 2017). Pennycook and Rand (2019) found that analytical thinking - measured by the CRT - was positively associated with the ability to discern between fake news and real news, suggesting that 'lazy thinking' or cognitive miserliness - rather than motivated reasoning - is a key factor. A systematic review, Nan et al. (2022) found the analytic thinking style (as measured by the CRT) to be negatively related to susceptibility to health misinformation in all seven studies that included thinking style as a predictor.

Analytic thinking (inclination toward slow and deliberate processing of information in a conscious effort to mitigate biases and reach objective understanding of facts), is a well-studied concept in the context of conspiratorial beliefs, while the negative mutual relationship seems well-evidenced.

This process, however, requires effortful, deliberate thinking, which might be hindered by cognitive miserliness or the tendency to default to less costly processing mechanisms (Stanovich, 2021; Pennycook and Rand, 2019). Hence, we have Proposition 5: The impact and persistence of misinformation are driven by various cognitive fallacies, with or without the motivational forces.

Existing studies tend to focus on individual aspects of fake news consumption, such as susceptibility to misinformation or partisan biases.

Despite the existence of a multitude of terms to describe falsehoods circulating online, such as misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda. (Note: Snippet provides general background on misinformation but does not directly address cognitive ability associations; included as neutral context from academic source.)[6]

Analytic thinking correlates negatively with belief in fake news. Psychological factors underlying vulnerability to misinformation include lower analytic thinking. This extends research on analytic thinking and detection of false information.

Multiple studies have established a consistent association between higher levels of intellectual humility and lower receptivity to misinformation. In a complex information environment, the psychological trait of intellectual humility—recognizing the limits of one’s knowledge—is a significant protective factor against misinformation. This protection stems not from general skepticism, but from enhanced misinformation discernment and superior metacognitive insight.[3]

The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), a standard measure of analytic thinking and cognitive ability, has been consistently shown across multiple studies to negatively correlate with susceptibility to misinformation, fake news, and bullshit receptivity. Lower CRT scores (indicating weaker analytic thinking) predict higher belief in false information and reduced ability to distinguish real from fabricated news.