The joint interplay of technology and psychology in creating individualized realities and potential consequences

Through technological advances and internet devices, humans are provided with access to an immense amount of information at all times. Online information environments are often personalized and dynamic, constantly adapting and aligning with an individual’s predicted interests and attitudes. Consequently, each environment results, at least partly, from the interaction between technology and psychology, and is, hence, bound to be skewed. Therefore, in line with the aim of PN 7 to optimize the adaptive capacity of interactive pervasive simulations, it seems crucial to investigate whether, when and for whom increased adaptability of information environments might have positive versus detrimental consequences, particularly regarding cognitive processing and (biased) opinion formation in the political context. To this end, behavioral experiments are conducted where participants are exposed to different simulated information environments. These environments differ in attributes like the degree of personalization, etc. The complex effects of these attributes on different cognitive processes are investigated using computational modeling and different types of data (behavioral and self-report data, reaction times, etc.; if possible: eye tracking or EEG data). Additionally, the effects on opinion formation processes, including extremization and polarization, are examined via data-intensive statistical modeling approaches (e.g., multi-level structural equation modeling, incl. Bayesian approaches). Thereby, the present project enhances the understanding of how users process information and which characteristics should be considered to optimize information processing, e.g., to prevent cognitive overload. Currently, online information environments present information mostly in text, picture, and/or video format. This is why the present work mostly focuses on such environments. However, first attempts have been made to use and VR environments to present socio-political information (e.g., http://unvr.sdgactioncampaign.org/vr-films/#.ZJBO2jdBw6E). The knowledge derived from the present project is, therefore, crucial for future studies on more immersive realities (AR/VR) to enhance their adaptive capacity.