Hedonism as a motive for information search: biased information-seeking leads to biased beliefs.

ABSTRACT: Confirmation bias in information-search contributes to the formation of polarized echo-chambers of beliefs. However, the role of valence on information source selection remains poorly understood. In Experiment 1, participants won financial rewards depending on the outcomes of a set of lotteries. They were not shown these outcomes, but instead could choose to view a prediction of each lottery outcome made by one of two sources. Before choosing their favoured source, participants were first shown a series of example predictions made by each. The sources systematically varied in the accuracy and positivity (i.e., how often they predicted a win) of their predictions. Hierarchical Bayesian modeling indicated that both source accuracy and positivity impacted participants' choices. Importantly, t

SUBMITTER: Jiwa M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9902457 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature