@article{TEXTUAL,
      recid = {10048},
      author = {Horn, Samantha and Litovsky, Yana and Loewenstein, George},
      title = {Using curiosity to counter health information avoidance},
      journal = {Social Science &amp; Medicine},
      address = {2023-11-14},
      number = {TEXTUAL},
      abstract = {&lt;p&gt;Objective: Information that is beneficial for health  decision-making is often ignored or actively avoided.  Countering information avoidance can increase knowledge of  disease risk factors and symptoms, aiding early diagnoses  and reducing disease transmission. We examine whether  curiosity can be a useful tool in increasing demand for,  and engagement with, potentially aversive but useful health  information.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods: Four pre-registered randomized  online studies were conducted with 5795 participants  recruited from online survey platforms. Curiosity for  aversive health information was manipulated by providing a  'curiosity incentive' - identity-related information  alongside aversive information - (Study 1), obscuring  information (Studies 2 and 3), and eliciting guesses about  the information (Studies 2 and 4). Willingness to view four  types of aversive health information was elicited: alcohol  consumption screening scores (Study 1), colon cancer risk  scores (Study 2), cancer risk factors (Study 3), and the  sugar content of drinks (Study 4).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results: In Study  1, the curiosity manipulation increased the likelihood that  participants viewed information about the riskiness of  their drinking. Studies 2 and 3 show that curiosity prompts  can counter people's reluctance to learn about and assess  their cancer risk. And Study 4 shows that using curiosity  prompts to encourage engagement with aversive information  (sugar content of drinks) also improves health-related  choices (opting for a sugar-free drink alternative).&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Conclusion: Curiosity prompts provide an effective and  simple way to increase engagement with aversive health  information.&lt;/p&gt;},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/10048},
}