Is belief superiority justified by superior knowledge?

Is belief superiority justified by superior knowledge? Michael P. Hall, Kaitlin T. Raimi. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 76, May 2018, Pages 290–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.03.001

Highlights
•    People expressing belief superiority claim enhanced knowledge on that topic.
•    Belief superiority is unassociated with true knowledge of many political issues.
•    Belief superiority is associated with increased congenial selective exposure bias.
•    Manipulations of belief superiority decreased subsequent selective exposure.

Abstract: Individuals expressing belief superiority—the belief that one's views are superior to other viewpoints—perceive themselves as better informed about that topic, but no research has verified whether this perception is justified. The present research examined whether people expressing belief superiority on four political issues demonstrated superior knowledge or superior knowledge-seeking behavior. Despite perceiving themselves as more knowledgeable, knowledge assessments revealed that the belief superior exhibited the greatest gaps between their perceived and actual knowledge. When given the opportunity to pursue additional information in that domain, belief-superior individuals frequently favored agreeable over disagreeable information, but also indicated awareness of this bias. Lastly, experimentally manipulated feedback about one's knowledge had some success in affecting belief superiority and resulting information-seeking behavior. Specifically, when belief superiority is lowered, people attend to information they may have previously regarded as inferior. Implications of unjustified belief superiority and biased information pursuit for political discourse are discussed.

Keywords: Belief superiority; Knowledge; Selective exposure; Metacognition