Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Social Proof00:52

Social Proof

29.3K
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
29.3K
Self-Schemas02:16

Self-Schemas

33.2K
In general, a schema is a mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts (Bartlett, 1932). There are many different types of schemata, and they all have one thing in common: schemata are a method of organizing information that allows the brain to work more efficiently. When a schema is activated, the brain makes immediate assumptions about the person or object being observed.
33.2K
Confirmation Biases01:31

Confirmation Biases

7.4K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
7.4K
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison02:57

The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

52.7K
According to Charles Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see (Cooley 1902). We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley...
52.7K
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

18.5K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  
18.5K
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory01:29

Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory

62
Attribution theory plays a crucial role in social psychology, helping to explain how individuals interpret the causes of behavior. One prominent model within this field is Harold Kelley's covariation theory, which provides a systematic approach to determining whether internal traits or external circumstances drive a person's actions. The model posits that individuals rely on three key types of information—consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness—to make these judgments.Consensus:...
62

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Escalating risk-taking is linked to emotional habituation.

Communications psychology·2025
Same author

Will we habituate to the decline of democracy?

Science advances·2025
Same author

Web-browsing patterns reflect and shape mood and mental health.

Nature human behaviour·2024
Same author

Sensitivity to intrinsic rewards is domain general and related to mental health.

Nature. Mental health·2024
Same author

Multifaceted information-seeking motives in children.

Nature communications·2023
Same author

Changing the incentive structure of social media platforms to halt the spread of misinformation.

eLife·2023
Same journal

The BRCA1-A complex restricts replication fork reversal-dependent DNA repair in ATM deficient cells.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Signaling downstream of tumor-stroma interaction regulates mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma apicobasal polarity.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Click-polymerized polyenamine membranes for efficient lithium extraction.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Joint trajectories of brain atrophy, white matter hyperintensities and cognition quantify brain maintenance.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

Proton shuttling at electrochemical interfaces under alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Nature communications·2026
Same journal

metilene<sup>3</sup>: identifying DMRs across multiple conditions with auto-classification.

Nature communications·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model
06:30

Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model

Published on: May 24, 2019

5.4K

Individual differences in information-seeking.

Christopher A Kelly1,2, Tali Sharot3,4

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK. christopher.kelly.16@ucl.ac.uk.

Nature Communications
|December 4, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People decide what information to seek based on its usefulness, emotional impact, and relevance to frequent thoughts. These motives influence information-seeking behavior and are linked to individual mental health.

More Related Videos

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
10:26

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

4.1K
Eye-tracking Technology and Data-mining Techniques used for a Behavioral Analysis of Adults engaged in Learning Processes
10:43

Eye-tracking Technology and Data-mining Techniques used for a Behavioral Analysis of Adults engaged in Learning Processes

Published on: June 10, 2021

5.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2025

Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model
06:30

Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model

Published on: May 24, 2019

5.4K
Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
10:26

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

4.1K
Eye-tracking Technology and Data-mining Techniques used for a Behavioral Analysis of Adults engaged in Learning Processes
10:43

Eye-tracking Technology and Data-mining Techniques used for a Behavioral Analysis of Adults engaged in Learning Processes

Published on: June 10, 2021

5.5K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Behavioral Science
  • Information Science

Background:

  • Individuals have access to unprecedented amounts of personalized information.
  • Understanding the decision-making process behind information acquisition is a critical research area.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the key motives driving information-seeking behavior.
  • To investigate how these motives are integrated into an individual's assessment of information value.
  • To explore the stability of these motives over time and their relationship with mental health.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted five studies across diverse domains to examine information-seeking behavior.
  • Utilized a longitudinal approach to track information-seeking motives.
  • Assessed mental health using a battery of psychopathology questionnaires.

Main Results:

  • Information-seeking is associated with three primary motives: action-directing utility, emotional impact, and conceptual relevance.
  • Individuals integrate these motive assessments into a value calculation that predicts information seeking or avoidance.
  • Personalized weighting of these motives is stable over time and correlates with mental health indicators.

Conclusions:

  • Information-seeking is a complex process driven by a combination of practical, emotional, and cognitive factors.
  • Individual differences in motive weighting contribute to unique information-seeking profiles.
  • The stability of these motives and their link to mental health suggest underlying psychological mechanisms influencing information engagement.