Metáforas que dan vida a teorías psicológicas: el caso de la teoría de la inoculación en la investigación de desinformación
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26439/persona2026.n1.8917Palabras clave:
metáforas conceptuales, actos de habla, prebunking, actos perlocutivos, desinformaciónResumen
Este ensayo examina las metáforas conceptuales la desinformación es un virus y las intervenciones son vacunas que fundamentan la teoría de la inoculación en la investigación sobre desinformación. Si bien este encuadre ha guiado el desarrollo de intervenciones de prebunking, es crucial ser consciente de las limitaciones de las metáforas en la ciencia para identificar los aspectos que podrían pasarse por alto. A partir de la Teoría de las Metáforas Conceptuales (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) y la Teoría de los Actos de Habla (Austin, 1962), este ensayo identifica dos limitaciones. Primero, comunicar la desinformación como “infecciosa” conlleva el riesgo de patologizar características de la comunicación, creencias y preocupaciones razonables. Esto puede generar actitudes defensivas, polarización y menor confianza en los investigadores, particularmente en contextos donde la desconfianza puede estar justificada. Segundo, la metáfora viral representa a las audiencias como pasivas y vulnerables al “contagio”, lo que podría disuadir a los investigadores de interactuar con las comunidades durante el diseño de las intervenciones. El ensayo concluye que el marco de la inoculación debería complementarse con enfoques cualitativos, con el trabajo conjunto con las poblaciones objetivo y con la conciencia de las consecuencias no deseadas de conceptualizar la desinformación como un virus. Estas consideraciones tienen implicaciones para el diseño, la adopción y la escalabilidad de las intervenciones en la investigación sobre desinformación.
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