Using curiosity to counter health information avoidance

Samantha Horn, Yana Litovsky and George Loewenstein

Social Science & Medicine, 2024, vol. 340, issue C

Abstract: Information that is beneficial for health decision-making is often ignored or actively avoided. Countering information avoidance can increase knowledge of disease risk factors and symptoms, aiding early diagnoses and reducing disease transmission. We examine whether curiosity can be a useful tool in increasing demand for, and engagement with, potentially aversive but useful health information.

Keywords: Information avoidance; Curiosity; Health risk information; Cancer; Nutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:340:y:2024:i:c:s0277953623007402

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116383

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