The post-truth era is characterized by prioritizing emotions over facts and attitudes over truth. This study focuses on the impact of emotional information prevalent in this era on audience attitudes and cognitive processing. Existing research highlights the persuasive power of emotion, especially negative emotions and counter-arguing, in shaping audience attitudes towards news. However, the precise mechanisms by which emotional information influences cognitive processing in the post-truth context remain unexplored. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the differences in information processing mechanisms when audiences encounter emotional versus neutral news articles. The researchers hypothesize that emotional content depletes attentional resources, leading to altered cognitive conflict monitoring and evaluation, ultimately influencing implicit attitudes. The study leverages the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to measure implicit attitudes and analyze brain activity during information processing, respectively. The IAT measures unconscious attitudes, while ERPs provide high-temporal resolution data on cognitive processing stages, allowing for the investigation of the proposed two-stage CCME model.

The literature review examines the existing research on the post-truth era, emphasizing the increasing influence of emotions in shaping public opinion and attitudes. Studies highlight the interplay between affective responses and cognitive processes, suggesting that emotional information often precedes and influences the processing of factual information. While the term "post-truth era" is widely used, its precise nature and the underlying mechanisms affecting audience cognitive processing require further investigation. Prior research has used self-report methods to assess attitudes, but this study employs neurocognitive methods to gain a deeper understanding of the cognitive processes involved. The IAT, a well-established measure of implicit attitudes, and ERPs, which provide insights into the temporal dynamics of brain activity associated with cognitive processes, are employed to examine the influence of emotional information on implicit attitudes.

This study employed a 2 (information type: emotional vs. neutral) × 2 (condition: compatible vs. incompatible) × 3 (electrode position: Fz, Cz, Pz) experimental design. 44 undergraduate and graduate students (24 in the experimental group, 20 in the control group) participated. Participants' anxiety, depression, and positive/negative affect were assessed using the BAI, BDI, and PANAS scales before the experiment to ensure no significant differences between groups. Participants read two news articles—one with neutral content and one with emotional content—about genetically modified foods (GMFs), a controversial topic chosen for its potential to evoke emotional responses. Following the reading, participants completed an IAT to measure their implicit attitudes toward GMFs. EEG data were recorded during the IAT to measure ERPs (N2, N400, and LPP). The IAT consisted of five phases: attribute word practice, target word practice, congruent sorting, reverse practice, and incongruent sorting. Reaction times (RTs) for congruent and incongruent conditions were recorded. ERP data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA to examine the effects of information type, condition, and electrode position on N2, N400, and LPP amplitudes. RTs were also analyzed using a 2 × 2 ANOVA.

The IAT results showed no significant difference in reaction times between the emotional and neutral information groups, indicating a generally positive implicit attitude towards GMFs. However, the ERP analysis revealed significant differences. The N2 amplitude was significantly larger in the incongruent condition (negative associations) than in the congruent condition (positive associations), irrespective of information type. Significantly smaller N400 amplitudes were observed in the emotional information group compared to the neutral information group. This indicates that emotional information triggers stronger initial conflict monitoring (N2), but this conflict is less sustained in later processing stages (N400). The LPP amplitude also showed a significant difference between groups, with the emotional information group exhibiting smaller amplitudes. This suggests that emotional information leads to a reduction in the later evaluation phase of the IAT, possibly due to depleted attentional resources. The earlier N2 response and reduced N400 and LPP amplitudes in the emotional information group suggest a different information processing mechanism compared to the neutral information group. The results indicate that in the incongruent condition, emotional information leads to decreased conflict monitoring (N2) and less semantic processing conflict (N400), which in turn results in reduced late-stage evaluation (LPP).

The findings support the hypothesis that emotional information in the post-truth communication environment affects information processing by prioritizing emotional arousal and subsequently depleting attentional resources for later evaluation. The CCME model explains how emotional content leads to increased attentional allocation during conflict monitoring, resulting in less deep processing of factual information in the later stages. This suggests a potential mechanism for how emotional information can influence implicit attitudes without rigorous evaluation of factual content. The reduced LPP amplitude in the emotional-information group indicates that participants allocated less attention to the later evaluation stage, possibly due to the earlier engagement of resources by emotional processing. The results offer neurocognitive evidence for how emotional information may lead to biased information processing in the post-truth era. The study contributes to our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the impact of emotion on attitude formation in a media-saturated environment.

This study provides novel insights into how emotional information influences implicit attitudes in the post-truth era. Using IAT and ERP data, the study demonstrates that emotional information alters information-processing mechanisms, resulting in diminished late-stage evaluation and potentially affecting implicit attitudes. The CCME model provides a framework for understanding these effects. Future research should explore the role of individual differences, other emotional dimensions, and different media formats in modulating these effects. Expanding on this research with fMRI or fNIRS could further illuminate the neural substrates of emotion-based information processing in the post-truth era.

This study's limitations include the use of a specific topic (GMFs) and a student sample, which might limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research could explore a broader range of topics and participant demographics. Furthermore, the study focused on text-based information, and future studies should investigate the effects of emotional information in other media forms, such as videos or images. Finally, exploring the role of individual differences in emotional processing and cognitive control could provide further insights.