The Social Reality Inversion Curve (SRIC): A neuropsychiatric and social-cognitive framework of algorithmic delusion and collective epistemic erosion

Digital information ecosystems have altered the social conditions under which people encounter, repeat, evaluate, and challenge information. This conceptual paper introduces the Social Reality Inversion Curve (SRIC), a proposed model describing how affective salience, repeated algorithmic exposure, social reinforcement, and reduced visibility of counter-evidence may contribute to consolidation of inaccurate narratives as socially accepted beliefs. The model describes four hypothesized phases: Affective Priming, Echo Consolidation, Pluralistic Digital Silence, and Consensual Reality Inversion. A companion candidate measure, the Algorithmic Epistemic Distortion Scale (AEDS), is proposed to operationalize individual susceptibility to these processes. The framework is hypothesis-generating rather than diagnostic and requires longitudinal, experimental, and psychometric validation.Keywords: social reality inversion; algorithmic amplification; epistemic distortion; psychological silence; disinformation; cognitive bias; social cognition; psychometrics; digital mental health.