Reading Conflicting Socio-Scientific Issue Texts: Visual and Post-Reading Myside Bias

This study examined whether university students display myside bias during and after reading conflicting socio-scientific issue (SSI) texts about genetically modified foods. Fifty-seven students read supporting and opposing claims while wearing eye-tracking glasses. Visual myside bias, defined as greater visual attention to information consistent with readers’ pre-reading stance than to information inconsistent with that stance, was assessed using percent time spent (PTS) and revisited fixation count (RFC) in myside and otherside areas of interest. Prior knowledge, scientific epistemic beliefs, epistemic emotions, and a post-reading argument generation task were also assessed. Students devoted significantly more visual attention to myside information on both PTS and RFC, showing that myside bias emerged during reading as well as in post-reading argument generation. Prior knowledge and scientific epistemic beliefs negatively predicted both visual and post-reading bias. Negative epistemic emotions were positively correlated with both bias measures but were not significant after cognitive variables were controlled. Longer viewing time and more frequent revisits did not necessarily indicate higher-quality informal reasoning; when directed toward myside information, they reflected stance-consistent processing. These findings provide process-based evidence of biased SSI reading and highlight knowledge and epistemic beliefs as potential supports for more balanced, evidence-oriented engagement with conflicting information.