How Defense and Accuracy Motives Influence Health Information Seeking and Avoidance: A Dual-Motive Model Perspective

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Health information behaviors are complex, influenced by various psychological and social factors.
• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need to understand how individuals seek or avoid health information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and test a dual-motive model of health information seeking and avoidance.
• To identify antecedents of accuracy and defense motives in health information behavior.
• To explore the moderating role of political ideology in these processes.

Main Methods:

• An online survey was conducted with 638 respondents in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The study examined relationships between information insufficiency, overload, denial, trust, risk perception, political ideology, and health information behaviors.

Main Results:

• Information insufficiency was positively associated with information seeking.
• Information overload and denial were significant predictors of information avoidance.
• Trust in government and risk perception negatively correlated with information overload, reactance, and denial.
• Political ideology (liberal vs. conservative) moderated the influence of risk perception and emotions on information motives and behaviors.

Conclusions:

• The dual-motive model provides a framework for understanding health information seeking and avoidance.
• Factors like information overload, denial, trust, and political ideology play significant roles in shaping these behaviors.
• Findings offer insights for health information management strategies tailored to diverse populations.