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Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
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Published on: October 3, 2020

Behavioral obligation and information avoidance.

Jennifer L Howell1, James A Shepperd

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Florida, PO Box 112250, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250, USA. jenny.howell@ufl.edu

Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
|December 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People often avoid learning health information when it requires them to perform undesirable behaviors. This avoidance is more pronounced when the required actions are highly undesirable, demonstrating a strong preference for ignorance over unpleasant obligations.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Economics
  • Health Psychology
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Knowledge offers benefits, yet individuals frequently choose ignorance.
  • Understanding the psychological drivers of voluntary ignorance is crucial for health communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hypothesis that people avoid information when it necessitates undesirable actions.
  • To examine how the severity of the undesirable behavior influences information avoidance.

Main Methods:

  • Three online studies were conducted using a risk calculator.
  • Participants were presented with scenarios where high-risk feedback mandated either highly or mildly undesirable behaviors.
  • The opportunity to receive risk feedback was then offered to assess avoidance rates.

Main Results:

  • Participants significantly more often avoided receiving risk feedback when it implied highly undesirable behaviors compared to mildly undesirable ones.
  • This pattern held consistently across all three studies.

Conclusions:

  • Individuals actively decline to learn risk information when such knowledge imposes an obligation for undesirable behavior.
  • The degree of undesirability of the consequent behavior is a key factor in the decision to remain ignorant.