The More Insufficient, the More Avoidance? Cognitive and Affective Factors that Relates to Information Behaviours in Acute Risks

Shuguang Zhao; Yiming Liu

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730068

The More Insufficient, the More Avoidance? Cognitive and Affective Factors that Relates to Information Behaviours in Acute Risks

Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 24:12:730068. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730068. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Shuguang Zhao¹, Yiming Liu²

Affiliations

¹ School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
² Zijin Media Research, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between cognitive and affective factors and people's information-seeking and -avoiding behaviours in acute risks with a 1,946-sample online survey conducted in February 2020, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that perceived information insufficiency correlates negatively with information-seeking behaviour and there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between information insufficiency and avoidance behaviour. As for the risk-related cognitive factors, information seeking increases as perceived severity of risks rises, while information avoiding increases as perceived susceptibility rises. Perceived response efficacy positively correlates with information-seeking and negatively with information-avoidance behaviours. Preliminary results also indicated that different affective factors relate to information-seeking and avoidance behaviours differently.

Keywords: COVID-19; China; health communication; information avoidance; information seeking; public health emergency; risk communication.