Exposure to worrisome topics can increase cognitive performance when incentivized by a performance goal.

ABSTRACT: Worrisome topics, such as climate change, economic crises, or pandemics including Covid-19, are increasingly present and pervasive due to digital media and social networks. Do worries triggered by such topics affect the cognitive capacities of young adults? In an online experiment during the Covid-19 pandemic (N=1503), we test how the cognitive performance of university students responds when exposed to topics discussing (i) current adverse mental health consequences of social restrictions or (ii) future labor market hardships linked to the economic contraction. Moreover, we study how such a response is affected by a performance goal. We find that the labor market topic increases cognitive performance when it is motivated by a goal, consistent with a 'tunneling effect' of scarcity or a pos

SUBMITTER: Demont T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10786830 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature