A Scoping Review to Clarify the Concept of Information Avoidance and Its Postulated and Examined Consequences

Abstract

Scholars from various academic disciplines have discussed the growing issue of information avoidance and its adverse consequences. To bring together different perspectives, clarify this phenomenon, and explore its consequences, a scoping review was conducted. A total of 206 articles met the stipulated inclusion criteria. The review consolidated definitions of related terms and defined information avoidance as any (in)action intended to delay or prevent the acquisition of specific types of available, accessible, personally relevant, possibly unknown but unwanted information from (selected) media and interpersonal sources. Despite a wide range of postulated consequences, only a limited number of studies have examined them, with findings revealing mixed results. Based on the current state of research, desiderates are proposed to guide future research on information avoidance.

Keywords

literature review deliberate ignorance ostrich effect ostrich problem outcomes

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arksey

O’Malley

(2005). Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616

Atkin

(1973). Instrumental utility and information seeking. In Clarke

(Ed.), Sage annual reviews of communication research (2nd ed., pp. 205–242). Sage Publ.

Balafoutas

Sandakov

Zhuravleva

(2021). No moral wiggle room in an experimental corruption game. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 701294. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701294

Barbour

J. B.

Rintamaki

L. S.

Ramsey

J. A.

Brashers

D. E.

(2012). Avoiding health information. Journal of Health Communication, 17(2), 212–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2011.585691

Bargh

J. A.

Jr. (1994). The four horsemen of automaticity: Awareness, intention, efficiency, and control in social cognition. In Wyer

R. S.

Srull

T. K.

(Eds.), Handbook of social cognition (2nd ed., pp. 1–40). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Bargh

J. A.

Gollwitzer

P. M.

Lee-Chai

Barndollar

Trötschel

(2001). The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1014–1027. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.1014

Bautista

J. R.

Zhang

Gwizdka

Chang

Y. S.

(2023). Consumers’ longitudinal health information needs and seeking: A scoping review. Health Promotion International, 38(4), Article daad066. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daad066

Booth

Sutton

Clowes

Martyn-St James

(Eds.). (2022). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review (3rd ed.). Sage.

Brashers

D. E.

(2001). Communication and uncertainty management. Journal of Communication, 51(3), 477–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2001.tb02892.x

10.

Brashers

D. E.

Goldsmith

D. J.

Hsieh

(2002). Information seeking and avoiding in health contexts. Human Communication Research, 28(2), 258–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2002.tb00807.x

11.

Brashers

D. E.

Neidig

J. L.

Haas

S. M.

Dobbs

L. K.

Cardillo

L. W.

Russell

J. A.

(2000). Communication in the management of uncertainty: The case of persons Living with HIV or AIDS. Communication Monographs, 67(1), 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637750009376495

12.

Bressel

Dewitz

Greifeneder

(2023). Exploring information behavior patterns in response to false and misleading health information. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 60(1), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.770

13.

Brocas

Carrillo

J. D.

(2020). The development of social strategic ignorance and other regarding behavior from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 85, 101524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2020.101524

14.

Brown

G. D.

Walasek

(2020). Models of deliberate ignorance in individual choice. In Hertwig

Engel

(Eds.), Deliberate ignorance: Choosing not to know (pp. 121–137). Ernst Strüngmann Forum.

15.

Cade

N. L.

Garavaglia

S. M.

Hoffman

V. B.

(2023). Why some investors avoid accounting information: Identifying a psychological cost of information acquisition using the securities-based crowdfunding setting. Accounting Review, 98(7), 97–120. https://doi.org/10.2308/tar-2022-0346

16.

Case

D. O.

Andrews

J. E.

Johnson

J. D.

Allard

S. L.

(2005). Avoiding versus seeking: The relationship of information seeking to avoidance, blunting, coping, dissonance, and related concepts. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 93(3), 353–362.

17.

Chae

Lee

C. J.

Kim

(2020). Prevalence, predictors, and psychosocial mechanism of cancer information avoidance: Findings from a national survey of U.S. adults. Health Communication, 35(3), 322–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2018.1563028

18.

Chan

T. Y.

Liao

Martin

Wang

(2024). Avoiding peer information and its effects on charity crowdfunding: A field experiment. Management Science, 70(4), 2272–2293. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4807

19.

Chapkovski

(2022). Information avoidance in a polarized society. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 101, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2022.101940

20.

Chater

Loewenstein

(2016). The under-appreciated drive for sense-making. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 126, 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2015.10.016

21.

Chen

(2023). Danger control and fear control during public health emergencies: Considering the roles of fear and hope in the EPPM across different levels of trust. Risk Analysis, 43(5), 928–942. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13985

22.

Choo

C. W.

(2017). Seeking and avoiding information in a risky world. Information Research, 22(3), 765. http://InformationR.net/ir/22-3/paper765.html

23.

Conley

T. D.

Taylor

S. E.

Kemeny

M. E.

Cole

S. W.

Visscher

(1999). Psychological sequelae of avoiding HIV-serostatus information. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 21(2), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834ba210201

24.

Cooper

H. M.

Hedges

L. V.

Valentine

J. C.

(Eds.). (2019). The handbook of research synthesis and meta-analysis (3rd ed.). Russell Sage Foundation.

25.

Crane

Hagerman

Horgan

Butryn

(2023). Patterns and predictors of engagement with digital self-monitoring during the maintenance phase of a behavioral weight loss program: Quantitative study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 11, e45057. https://doi.org/10.2196/45057

26.

Dai

Ali

Wang

(2020). Exploring information avoidance intention of social media users: A cognition–affect–conation perspective. Internet Research, 30(5), 1455–1478. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-06-2019-0225

27.

Dali

(2018). The lifeways we avoid: The role of information avoidance in discrimination against people with disabilities. Journal of Documentation, 74(6), 1258–1273. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2018-0057

28.

Deline

M. B.

Kahlor

L. A.

(2019). Planned risk information avoidance: A proposed theoretical model. Communication Theory, 29(3), 272–294. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qty035

29.

Donovan

E. E.

LeBlanc Farris

(2019). Interpersonal communication and coping with cancer: A multidisciplinary theoretical review of the literature. Communication Theory, 29(2), 236–256. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qty026

30.

Edenbrandt

A. K.

Lagerkvist

C. J.

Nordström

(2021). Interested, indifferent or active information avoiders of carbon labels: Cognitive dissonance and ascription of responsibility as motivating factors. Food Policy, 101, 102036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102036

31.

Edgerly

(2022). The head and heart of news avoidance: How attitudes about the news media relate to levels of news consumption. Journalism, 23, 1828–1845. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849211012922

32.

Ellis

E. M.

Ferrer

R. A.

Klein

W. M. P.

(2018). Factors beyond lack of knowledge that predict “I Don’t Know” responses to surveys that assess HPV knowledge. Journal of Health Communication, 23(10–11), 967–976. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2018.1554729

33.

Emanuel

A. S.

Kiviniemi

M. T.

Howell

J. L.

Hay

J. L.

Waters

E. A.

Orom

Shepperd

J. A.

(2015). Avoiding cancer risk information. Social Science & Medicine, 147, 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.058

34.

Fong

Hunter

(2022). Can facing the truth improve outcomes? Effects of information in consumer finance. Marketing Science, 41(1), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2021.1298

35.

Foust

J. L.

Taber

J. M.

(2025). Information avoidance: Past perspectives and future directions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 20, 241–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231197668

36.

Ganguly

Tasoff

(2017). Fantasy and dread: The demand for information and the consumption utility of the future. Management Science, 63(12), 4037–4060. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2550

37.

Gaspar

Luís

Seibt

Lima

M. L.

Marcu

Rutsaert

Fletcher

Verbeke

Barnett

(2016). Consumers’ avoidance of information on red meat risks: Information exposure effects on attitudes and perceived knowledge. Journal of Risk Research, 19(4), 533–549. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2014.1003318

38.

Gigerenzer

Garcia-Retamero

(2017). Cassandra’s regret: The psychology of not wanting to know. Psychological Review, 124(2), 179–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000055

39.

Golman

Hagmann

Loewenstein

(2017). Information avoidance. Journal of Economic Literature, 55(1), 96–135. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20151245

40.

Golman

Loewenstein

Molnar

Saccardo

(2022). The demand for, and avoidance of, information. Management Science, 68(9), 6454–6476. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4244

41.

Graf

Antoni

C. H.

(2023). Drowning in the flood of information: A meta-analysis on the relation between information overload, behaviour, experience, and health and moderating factors. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(2), 173–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432x.2022.2118051

42.

Griffin

R. J.

Dunwoody

Neuwirth

(1999). Proposed model of the relationship of risk information seeking and processing to the development of preventive behaviors. Environmental Research, 80(2), S230–S245. https://doi.org/10.1006/enrs.1998.3940

43.

Guo

Sun

(2023). Research on the process and influencing factors of online diabetes information users’ avoidance behavior: A qualitative study. Behavioral Sciences, 13(3), Article 267. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13030267

44.

Haltinner

Sarathchandra

(2018). Climate change skepticism as a psychological coping strategy. Sociology Compass, 12(6), Article e12586. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12586

45.

Heck

P. R.

Meyer

M. N.

(2019). Information avoidance in genetic health: Perceptions, norms, and preferences. Social Cognition, 37(3), 266–293. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2019.37.3.266

46.

Heinström

Nikou

Sormunen

(2022). Avoiding negative information as a strategy for emotion regulation. Information Research, 27, Article isic2229. https://doi.org/10.47989/irisic2229

47.

Hertwig

Engel

(2016). Homo ignorans: Deliberately choosing not to know. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(3), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616635594

48.

Hilbe

Schmid

(2020). The evolution of deliberate ignorance in strategic interaction. In Hertwig

Engel

(Eds.), Deliberate ignorance: Choosing not to know (pp. 139–152). Ernst Strüngmann Forum.

49.

Hilchey

M. D.

Soman

(2023). Demand for information about potential wins and losses: Does it matter if information matters? Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 36(4), Article e2322. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2322

50.

Hilzenrat

Yesovitch

Shrier

Stavrakis

Deschênes

(2006). The effect of information level and coping style on pain and anxiety in needle liver biopsy. Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology, 20(9), 597–600. https://doi.org/10.1155/2006/610489

51.

Howell

J. L.

Crosier

B. S.

Shepperd

J. A.

(2014). Does lacking threat-management resources increase information avoidance? A multi-sample, multi-method investigation. Journal of Research in Personality, 50, 102–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2014.03.003

52.

Howell

J. L.

Ratliff

K. A.

Shepperd

J. A.

(2016). Automatic attitudes and health information avoidance. Health Psychology, 35(8), 816–823. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000330

53.

Howell

J. L.

Shepperd

J. A.

(2016). Establishing an information avoidance scale. Psychological Assessment, 28(12), 1695–1708. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000315

54.

Hoy

M. G.

Levenshus

A. B.

(2018). A mixed-methods approach to assessing actual risk readership on branded drug websites. Journal of Risk Research, 21(5), 521–538. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2016.1223160

55.

Hua

Howell

J. L.

(2022). Coping self-efficacy influences health information avoidance. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(3), 713–725. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320965664

56.

Huang

S. C.

(2018). Social information avoidance: When, why, and how it is costly in goal pursuit. Journal of Marketing Research, 55(3), 382–395. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.16.0268

57.

Hussain

Price

D. M.

Gesselman

A. N.

Shepperd

J. A.

Howell

J. L.

(2021). Avoiding information about one’s romantic partner. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38(2), 626–647. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520969856

58.

Hwang

Jeong

S. H.

(2023). Misinformation exposure and acceptance: The role of information seeking and processing. Health Communication, 38(3), 585–593. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1964187

59.

Hwang

Jeong

S. H.

(2023). Does COVID-19 message fatigue lead to misinformation acceptance? An extension of the risk information seeking and processing model. Health Communication, 38(12), 2742–2749. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2111636

60.

Jarke-Neuert

Lohse

(2022). I’m in a hurry, I don’t want to know! Strategic ignorance under time pressure. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 151(11), 2833–2845. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001222

61.

Jensen

J. D.

Pokharel

Carcioppolo

Upshaw

John

K. K.

Katz

R. A.

(2020). Cancer information overload: Discriminant validity and relationship to sun safe behaviors. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(2), 309–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2019.08.039

62.

Jensen

J. G.

Petersen

Frandsen

T. F.

(2022). Seeking and avoiding information: A qualitative study of the information behaviour of cancer patients. Information Research, 27, Article colis2209. https://doi.org/10.47989/colis2209

63.

Johnson

J. D.

Case

D. O.

(2012). Health information seeking (Vol. 4). Health communication. Peter Lang Verlag.

64.

Jung

(2014). Associations of self-rated health and socioeconomic status with information seeking and avoiding behavior among post- treatment cancer patients. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 15(5), 2231–2238. https://doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.5.2231

65.

Kadel

Herwig

I. E.

Mata

(2024). Deliberate ignorance-a barrier for information interventions targeting reduced meat consumption? Psychology and Health, 39(11), 1656–1673. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2023.2182895

66.

Karlsen

Beyer

Steen-Johnsen

(2020). Do high-choice media environments facilitate news avoidance? A longitudinal study 1997–2016. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 64(5), 794–814. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2020.1835428

67.

Karlsson

Loewenstein

Seppi

(2009). The ostrich effect: Selective attention to information. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 38(2), 95–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11166-009-9060-6

68.

Kerr

A. M.

Harrington

N. G.

Scott

A. M.

(2020). Uncertainty management and decision making: Parents’ experiences during their first visit to a multidisciplinary clinic for their child’s vascular anomaly. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 52, 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2020.02.009

69.

Kobayashi

Boase

(2012). No such effect? The implications of measurement error in self-report measures of mobile communication use. Communication Methods and Measures, 6(2), 126–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2012.679243

70.

Krueger

J. I.

Hahn

Ellerbrock

Gächter

Hertwig

Leuker

Szech

Waldmann, M . (2020). Normative implications of deliberate ignorance. In Hertwig

Engel

(Eds.), Deliberate ignorance: Choosing not to know (pp. 241–271). Ernst Strüngmann Forum.

71.

Lambert

S. D.

Loiselle

C. G.

Macdonald

M. E.

(2009). An in-depth exploration of information-seeking behavior among individuals with cancer: Part 2: Understanding patterns of information disinterest and avoidance. Cancer Nursing, 32(1), 26–36. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NCC.0000343373.01646.91

72.

Lee

Kim

(2025). How terrorism cues affect attitude polarization over undocumented immigrants via negative emotions and information avoidance: A terror management theory perspective. Social Science Journal, 62(1), 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2021.1884777

73.

(2023). Information avoidance in the age of COVID-19: A meta-analysis. Information Processing & Management, 60(1), 103163–103214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2022.103163

74.

Link

(2021). Information avoidance during health crises: Predictors of avoiding information about the COVID-19 pandemic among German news consumers. Information Processing & Management, 58(6), 102714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2021.102714

75.

Link

Baumann

(2022). Efficacy assessments as predictors of uncertainty preferences: Findings of a cross-sectional German study. European Journal of Health Psychology, 29(3), 134–144. https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000092

76.

Link

Baumann

Leuppert

(2024). Clarifying the relationship between information seeking and avoidance: Longitudinal analyses of information behaviors and their normative influences. Health Communication, 39(5), 1038–1052. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2201736

77.

Link

Leuppert

Baumann

(2023). Outcomes of information seeking and avoidance behaviors: Insights from a German longitudinal study. Journal of Health Communication, 28(12), 793–804. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2268562

78.

Liu

Chen

(2024). Disentangling the effects of cognitive, affective, and sociocultural factors on risk information avoidance: A meta-analysis. Communication Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502241246513

79.

Liu

Chen

Shi

Yan

(2021). The public’s risk information seeking and avoidance in China during early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 649180. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.649180

80.

Liu

Yang

J. Z.

(2023). Information seeking and information avoidance about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination: Knowledge, personal control, or affect? Journal of Risk Research, 26, 1227–1243. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2023.2270605

81.

McCloud

R. F.

Jung

Gray

S. W.

Viswanath

(2013). Class, race and ethnicity and information avoidance among cancer survivors. British Journal of Cancer, 108(10), 1949–1956. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2013.182

82.

McQueen

Vernon

S. W.

Swank

P. R.

(2013). Construct definition and scale development for defensive information processing: An application to colorectal cancer screening. Health Psychology, 32(2), 190–202. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027311

83.

Miles

Voorwinden

Chapman

Wardle

(2008). Psychologic predictors of cancer information avoidance among older adults: The role of cancer fear and fatalism. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 17(8), 1872–1879. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-08-0074

84.

Moher

Liberati

Tetzlaff

Altman

D. G.

(2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

85.

Moon

W. K.

Kahlor

L. A.

Yang

J. Z.

Lim

H. S.

(2022). Risk perception, affect, and information avoidance during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Journal of Risk Research, 25(7), 860–873. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2038247

86.

Moyal

Schurr

(2022). The effect of deliberate ignorance and choice procedure on pro-environmental decisions. Ecological Economics, 200, 107512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107512

87.

Munn

Peters

M. D. J.

Stern

Tufanaru

McArthur

Aromataris

(2018). Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 143. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x

88.

Naab

T. K.

Karnowski

Schlütz

(2019). Reporting mobile social media use: How survey and experience sampling measures differ. Communication Methods and Measures, 13(2), 126–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2018.1555799

89.

Narayan

Case

D. O.

Edwards

S. L.

(2011). The role of information avoidance in everyday-life information behaviors. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 48(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.2011.14504801085

90.

Nelissen

van Den Bulck

Beullens

(2017). A typology of cancer information seeking, scanning and avoiding: Results from an exploratory cluster analysis. Information Research, 22(2), 747. http://InformationR.net/ir/22-2/paper747.html

91.

Ouzzani

Hammady

Fedorowicz

Elmagarmid

(2016). Rayyan-a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 5(1), 210. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4

92.

Page

M. J.

McKenzie

J. E.

Bossuyt

P. M.

Boutron

Hoffmann

T. C.

Mulrow

C. D.

Shamseer

Tetzlaff

J. M.

Akl

E. A.

Brennan

S. E.

Chou

Glanville

Grimshaw

J. M.

Hróbjartsson

Lalu

M. M.

Loder

E. W.

Mayo-Wilson

McDonald

. . . Moher

(2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

93.

Peters

M. D.

Godfrey

C. M.

Khalil

McInerney

Parker

Soares

C. B.

(2015). Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 13(3), 141–146. https://doi.org/10.1097/XEB.0000000000000050

94.

Peterson

E. B.

Taber

J. M.

Klein

W. M. P.

(2022). Information avoidance, self-affirmation, and intentions to receive genomic sequencing results among members of an African descent cohort. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 56(2), 205–211. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab042

95.

Pomares

T. D.

Buttenheim

A. M.

Amin

A. B.

Joyce

C. M.

Porter

R. M.

Bednarczyk

R. A.

Omer

S. B.

(2020). Association of cognitive biases with human papillomavirus vaccine hesitancy: A cross-sectional study. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 16(5), 1018–1023. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2019.1698243

96.

Saffer

A. J.

Austin

(2023). What drives people away from COVID-19 information? Uncovering the influences of personal networks on information avoidance. Health Communication, 38(2), 216–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.1944457

97.

Reisch

L. A.

Sunstein

C. R.

Kaiser

(2021). What do people want to know? Information avoidance and food policy implications. Food Policy, 102, 102076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102076

98.

Rohrer

J. M.

Hünermund

Arslan

R. C.

Elson

(2022). That’s a lot to process! Pitfalls of popular path models. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 5(2), 251524592210958. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459221095827

99.

Sairanen

Savolainen

(2010). Avoiding health information in the context of uncertainty management. Information Research, 15(4), 443. http://InformationR.net/ir/15-4/paper443.html

100.

Scharkow

(2019). The reliability and temporal stability of self-reported media exposure: A meta-analysis. Communication Methods and Measures, 13(3), 198–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2019.1594742

101.

Schumacher

L. M.

Martinelli

M. K.

Convertino

A. D.

Forman

E. M.

Butryn

M. L.

(2021). Weight-related information avoidance prospectively predicts poorer self-monitoring and engagement in a behavioral weight loss intervention. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 55(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaaa034

102.

Sicherman

Law

Lipkin

P. H.

Loewenstein

Marvin

A. R.

Buxbaum

J. D.

(2021). Information avoidance and information seeking among parents of children with ASD. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 126(3), 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-126.3.249

103.

Siebenhaar

K. U.

Köther

A. K.

Alpers

G. W.

(2020). Dealing with the COVID-19 infodemic: Distress by information, information avoidance, and compliance with preventive measures. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article 567905. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.567905

104.

Simon

K. A.

Driver

Rathus

Cole

Kalinowski

Watson

R. J.

Eaton

L. A.

(2024). HIV information avoidance, HIV stigma, and medical mistrust among black sexual minority men in the Southern United States: Associations with HIV testing. AIDS and Behavior, 28, 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04218-6

105.

Skovsgaard

Andersen

(2020). Conceptualizing news avoidance: Towards a shared understanding of different causes and potential solutions. Journalism Studies, 21(4), 459–476. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2019.1686410

106.

Slater

M. D.

Shehata

Strömbäck

(2020). Reinforcing spirals model. In Bulck

(Ed.), The international encyclopedia of media psychology (pp. 1–11). Wiley.

107.

Kuang

Cho

(2019). Information seeking upon exposure to risk messages: Predictors, outcomes, and mediating roles of health information seeking. Communication Research, 46(5), 663–687. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650216679536

108.

Song

Yao

Wen

(2021). What motivates Chinese consumers to avoid information about the COVID-19 pandemic? The perspective of the stimulus-organism-response model. Information Processing & Management, 58(1), 102407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2020.102407

109.

St. Jean

Jindal

Liao

. (2017). Is ignorance really bliss? Exploring the interrelationships among information avoidance, health literacy and health justice. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 54(1), 394–404. https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2017.14505401043

110.

Sun

Cheng

Pan

Shen

Hua

(2022). Developing a framework for understanding health information behavior change from avoidance to acquisition: A grounded theory exploration. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1115. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13522-0

111.

Sweeny

Melnyk

Miller

Shepperd

J. A.

(2010). Information avoidance: Who, what, when, and why. Review of General Psychology, 14(4), 340–353. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021288

112.

Tricco

A. C.

Lillie

Zarin

O’Brien

K. K.

Colquhoun

Levac

Moher

Peters

M. D. J.

Horsley

Weeks

Hempel

Akl

E. A.

Chang

McGowan

Stewart

Hartling

Aldcroft

Wilson

M. G.

Garritty

. . . Straus

S. E.

(2018). Prisma extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7), 467–473. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850

113.

Trimmer

P. C.

McElreath

Auster

Brown

G. D.

Dana

Gigerenzer

Szech

(2020). The zoo of models of deliberate ignorance. In Hertwig

Engel

(Eds.), Deliberate ignorance: Choosing not to know (pp. 155–183). Ernst Strüngmann Forum.

114.

Villi

Aharoni

Tenenboim-Weinblatt

Boczkowski

P. J.

Hayashi

Mitchelstein

Tanaka

Kligler-Vilenchik

(2022). Taking a break from news: A five-nation study of news avoidance in the digital era. Digital Journalism, 10, 148–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1904266

115.

Waldherr

Hilbert

González-Bailón

(2021). Worlds of agents: Prospects of agent-based modeling for communication research. Communication Methods and Measures, 15(4), 243–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2021.1986478

116.

Wang

Zhang

(2021). The use of web-based interactive technology to promote HPV vaccine uptake among young females: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Women's Health, 21(1), 277. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01417-y

117.

Wang

Atkinson

Kahlor

L. A.

Jamar

Lim

H. S.

(2023). Avoiding Covid-19 risk information in the United States: The role of attitudes, norms, affect, social dominance orientations, and perceived trustworthiness of scientists. Risk Analysis, 43(6), 1145–1161. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13991

118.

Webb

T. L.

Chang

B. P. I.

Benn

(2013). ‘The ostrich problem’: Motivated avoidance or rejection of information about goal progress. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(11), 794–807. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12071

119.

Witte

(1992). Putting the fear back into fear appeals: The extended parallel process model. Communication Monographs, 59(4), 329–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637759209376276

120.

Woolley

Risen

J. L.

(2018). Closing your eyes to follow your heart: Avoiding information to protect a strong intuitive preference. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(2), 230–245. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000100

121.

Yang

Herbert

Yang

Alber

Ophir

Cappella

J. N.

(2021). The role of information avoidance in managing uncertainty from conflicting recommendations about electronic cigarettes. Communication Monographs, 88(3), 263–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2020.1809685

122.

Zhang

Yan

(2023). Exploring the influence mechanism of Chinese young researchers’ academic information avoidance behavior. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(2), 102649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102649

123.

Zolbin

M. G.

Han

Nikou

(2022). Effective factors influencing individual’s shared health decision making. Information Research, 27, Article isic2247. https://doi.org/10.47989/irisic2247

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.09 MB