An energizing role for motivation in information-seeking during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Yaniv Abir; Caroline B. Marvin; Camilla van Geen; Maya Leshkowitz; Ran R. Hassin; Daphna Shohamy

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30011-5

An energizing role for motivation in information-seeking during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Yaniv Abir^*, Caroline B. Marvin, Camilla van Geen, Maya Leshkowitz, Ran R. Hassin, Daphna Shohamy

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original language	American English
Article number	No. 2310
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30011-5
State	Published - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank Ohad Dan for their useful discussion and Nitai Kerem for his help with coding recalled answers. Funding was provided by a Templeton Foundation Science of Virtues grant (#60844 to D.S. and R.R.H.).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Keywords

Anxiety
COVID-19
Humans
Information Seeking Behavior
Motivation
Pandemics

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10.1038/s41467-022-30011-5

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abstract = "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.",

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AU - Hassin, Ran R.

AU - Shohamy, Daphna

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An energizing role for motivation in information-seeking during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

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Keywords

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