Examining the day-to-day antecedents and consequences of information avoidance: A daily diary study

Abstract

Counterintuitively, many people avoid self-relevant information. Numerous cross-sectional, lab-based empirical studies have found that people avoid information to avoid negative future emotions or when lacking coping resources; however, no studies have explored the day-to-day temporal dynamics of information avoidance. The present two-week daily diary study examined temporal dynamics of U.S. college students' (N = 181; approximately 2,200 diaries) information avoidance in everyday life across different contexts. Participants responded to measures assessing affect, coping resources, and behavior, which were predicted to be bidirectionally associated with information avoidance, building on existing models of information avoidance. Within- and between-person associations were assessed via multilevel models controlling for sociodemographic factors. The average participant avoided information on 30.49% of days, with more within-person than between-person variability. Participants were more likely to avoid information on days on which they reported greater negative affect and believed they had less self-efficacy in the avoided domain (e.g., participants avoided health information when lacking health self-efficacy). Information avoidance was not significantly associated with next-day affect, coping resources, or behavior, perhaps due to the design of the present study. Although null findings are inconsistent with the notion that information avoidance is maladaptive (at least in the short term), future research may explicate the consequences of information avoidance. Further understanding the temporal dynamics of information avoidance can help refine theories and best practices of information dissemination.