期刊
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
卷 13, 期 1, 页码 -出版社
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30011-5
关键词
-
资金
- Templeton Foundation Science of Virtues grant [60844]
This article describes data obtained in Spring 2020 showing that participants' drive to seek information about COVID-19 was related to their concern about the virus and their curiosity about other general topics. The study found that COVID-19 concern was associated with directed seeking of COVID-19-related content and better memory for such information. Interestingly, this motivation was also associated with an overall enhancement of information-seeking for content unrelated to COVID-19.
Information-seeking behavior in humans is often viewed as irrational rather than utility maximizing. Here the authors describe data obtained in Spring 2020 showing that participants' concern about COVID-19 was related not only to their drive to seek information about the virus, but also to their curiosity about other more general topics. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of understanding and managing information seeking behavior. Information-seeking in humans is often viewed as irrational rather than utility maximizing. Here, we hypothesized that this apparent disconnect between utility and information-seeking is due to a latent third variable, motivation. We quantified information-seeking, learning, and COVID-19-related concern (which we used as a proxy for motivation regarding COVID-19 and the changes in circumstance it caused) in a US-based sample (n = 5376) during spring 2020. We found that self-reported levels of COVID-19 concern were associated with directed seeking of COVID-19-related content and better memory for such information. Interestingly, this specific motivational state was also associated with a general enhancement of information-seeking for content unrelated to COVID-19. These effects were associated with commensurate changes to utility expectations and were dissociable from the influence of non-specific anxiety. Thus, motivation both directs and energizes epistemic behavior, linking together utility and curiosity.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据