Title | Multifaceted information-seeking motives in children |
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Type | Journal article |
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Authors | Molinaro, G., Cogliati Dezza, I., Bühler, S.K., Moutsiana, C. and Sharot, T. |
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Abstract | From an early age, children need to gather information to learn about their environment. Deciding which knowledge to pursue can be difficult because information can serve several, sometimes competing, purposes. Here, we examine the developmental trajectories of such diverse information-seeking motives. Over five experiments involving 521 children (aged 4-12), we find that school-age children integrate three key factors into their information-seeking choices: whether information reduces uncertainty, is useful in directing action, and is likely to be positive. Choices that likely reveal positive information and are useful for action emerge as early as age 4, followed by choices that reduce uncertainty (at ~age 5). Our results suggest that motives related to usefulness and uncertainty reduction become stronger with age, while the tendency to seek positive news does not show a statistically significant change throughout development. This study reveals how the relative importance of diverging, sometimes conflicting, information-seeking motives emerges throughout development. |
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Keywords | Humans |
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| Uncertainty |
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| Motivation |
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| Learning |
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| Knowledge |
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| Child |
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| Information Seeking Behavior |
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Article number | 5505 |
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Journal | Nature Communications |
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Journal citation | 14 (1) |
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ISSN | 2041-1723 |
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Year | 2023 |
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Publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
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Publisher's version | License CC BY 4.0 File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
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Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40971-x |
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PubMed ID | 37679315 |
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Publication dates |
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Published online | 07 Sep 2023 |
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Published in print | 01 Sep 2023 |
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Project | 100229/Z/12/Z |
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Funder | Wellcome Trust |
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| Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship |
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License | CC BY |
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File | 41467_2023_Article_40971.pdf |
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