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Adult age differences in noninstrumental information-seeking strategies
Greta M Fastrich1, Lily FitzGibbon1, Johnny K Lau1
1School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading.
Psychology and Aging
|June 3, 2024
Summary
As people age, their information-seeking behavior shifts. Older adults prefer to deepen existing knowledge (specific information seeking) rather than explore new topics (diversive information seeking).
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Lifespan Development
- Information Science
Background:
- Noninstrumental information seeking, often driven by curiosity, is a fundamental human behavior.
- Understanding how this behavior evolves across the lifespan is crucial for developmental and cognitive research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in noninstrumental information-seeking behaviors.
- To differentiate between diversive information seeking and specific information seeking in relation to age.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 500 participants aged 12-79 years.
- Participants spontaneously read facts and chose between exploring more facts on the current topic or selecting a new topic.
Main Results:
- Increasing age correlated with increased specific information seeking (exploring more facts within a topic).
- Increasing age correlated with decreased diversive information seeking (switching to new topics less frequently).
Conclusions:
- Younger individuals tend to seek a wider breadth of information.
- Older individuals demonstrate a preference for deepening their knowledge within existing domains.
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