Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected.
Misleading graphs are a source of misinformation that worry many experts. Especially people with a low graph literacy are thought to be persuaded by graphs that misrepresent the underlying data. But we know little about how people interpret misleading graphs and how these graphs influence their opin...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265823 |
| _version_ | 1828788171698077696 |
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| author | Jannetje E P Driessen Daniël A C Vos Ionica Smeets Casper J Albers |
| author_facet | Jannetje E P Driessen Daniël A C Vos Ionica Smeets Casper J Albers |
| author_sort | Jannetje E P Driessen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Misleading graphs are a source of misinformation that worry many experts. Especially people with a low graph literacy are thought to be persuaded by graphs that misrepresent the underlying data. But we know little about how people interpret misleading graphs and how these graphs influence their opinions. In this study we focus on the effect of truncating the y-axis for a line chart which exaggerates an upgoing trend. In a randomized controlled trial, we showed participants either a normal or a misleading chart, and we did so in two different contexts. After they had seen the graphs, we asked participants their opinion on the trend and to give an estimation of the increase. Finally we measured their graph literacy. Our results show that context is the only significant factor in opinion-forming; the misleading graph and graph literacy had no effect. None of these factors had a significant impact on estimations for the increase. These results show that people might be less susceptible to misleading graphs than we thought and that context has more impact than a misleading y-axis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:47:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dff4a70f637046168e259d166b42d2fb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:47:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-dff4a70f637046168e259d166b42d2fb2022-12-22T00:44:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01176e026582310.1371/journal.pone.0265823Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected.Jannetje E P DriessenDaniël A C VosIonica SmeetsCasper J AlbersMisleading graphs are a source of misinformation that worry many experts. Especially people with a low graph literacy are thought to be persuaded by graphs that misrepresent the underlying data. But we know little about how people interpret misleading graphs and how these graphs influence their opinions. In this study we focus on the effect of truncating the y-axis for a line chart which exaggerates an upgoing trend. In a randomized controlled trial, we showed participants either a normal or a misleading chart, and we did so in two different contexts. After they had seen the graphs, we asked participants their opinion on the trend and to give an estimation of the increase. Finally we measured their graph literacy. Our results show that context is the only significant factor in opinion-forming; the misleading graph and graph literacy had no effect. None of these factors had a significant impact on estimations for the increase. These results show that people might be less susceptible to misleading graphs than we thought and that context has more impact than a misleading y-axis.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265823 |
| spellingShingle | Jannetje E P Driessen Daniël A C Vos Ionica Smeets Casper J Albers Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected. PLoS ONE |
| title | Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected. |
| title_full | Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected. |
| title_fullStr | Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected. |
| title_short | Misleading graphs in context: Less misleading than expected. |
| title_sort | misleading graphs in context less misleading than expected |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265823 |
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