Individual Variables Predicting Responses to Deepfakes: A Cross-Cultural Contrast.

This study examines the impact of the Big Five personality traits, need for cognition (NFC), and need for affect (NFA) on responses to deepfakes across different genres (entertainment, political, and cheapfakes). Data from 1554 participants in Spain (n = 782) and the United States (n = 772) were analyzed regarding narrative transportation, realism, identification, enjoyment, and parasocial interaction. The findings suggest that extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness positively influence emotional and cognitive engagement with deepfakes, whereas neuroticism reduces enjoyment and connection. NFC enhances engagement with complex content, particularly in political deepfakes, whereas NFA strengthens emotional engagement, especially in entertainment deepfakes. U.S. participants exhibit higher cognitive and emotional responses than their Spanish counterparts, suggesting that cultural context moderates the impact of individual variables. These findings highlight the interplay between personality traits, NFC, and NFA in shaping deepfake reception, and emphasize the need to consider cultural factors in future research.