Does openness/intellect predict sensitivity to the reward value of information?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Neuropharmacology

Background:

• A theory suggests openness/intellect relates to valuing information, similar to how dopamine neurons respond to unexpected rewards.
• This links personality to information processing and reward systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between openness/intellect and the willingness to pay for non-instrumental information.
• To examine if the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride moderates this relationship.

Main Methods:

• A choice task was used to assess participants' willingness to pay for information.
• Experiment 1 (N=139) examined the link between openness/intellect and information preference.
• Experiment 2 (N=164) tested the effect of sulpiride on this relationship.

Main Results:

• Most measures of openness/intellect were unrelated to costly information preference.
• Some findings indicated a decreased willingness to pay for information with increasing openness/intellect.
• Sulpiride administration reduced the cost-dependent association between openness/intellect and information valuation, and increased willingness to pay for moderately costly information.

Conclusions:

• The information valuation theory of openness/intellect may require refinement.
• Dopamine appears to play a role in how individuals value information.
• Further research is needed to fully understand the interplay between personality, dopamine, and information seeking.