Anxiety can flourish in uncertain political situations. To get rid of this anxiety, individuals may more carefully evaluate political information, even if that information goes against their pre-existing beliefs.

Saint Louis University

Emotions can play a large factor in the formation of political identity, as well as influence their belief in political misinformation. Anxiety and anger can result in differences in how an individual approaches political misinformation. Having anxiety can influence a person to further seek out political information learning, whereas being angry can influence a person to be more close-minded with the political information they are presented with.

Anxiety and Anger on Partisan Bias in Accepting Misinformation

Weeks, B. E. (2015). Emotions, Partisanship, and Misperceptions: How Anger and Anxiety Moderate the Effect of Partisan Bias on Susceptibility to Political Misinformation. Journal of Communication, 65(4), 699–719. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12164

Emotions, Partisanship, and Misperceptions: How Anger and Anxiety Moderate the Effect of Partisan Bias on Susceptibility to Political Misinformation

Theory of Affective Intelligence

The study conducted by Weeks determined to see if emotions such as anger and anxiety can impact how an individual assesses political mis(information) and how this connects to partisan bias involved in the belief of political misinformation.

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