Willful inattention: Keeping aversive information out of mind

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of willful inattention and argues that it accounts for many behaviors that have previously been attributed to willful ignorance. Willful inattention arises when an individual avoids paying attention to an external stimulus or internal thought because they expect that focusing on it will evoke negative emotions or diminish positive ones. Willful ignorance, in contrast, is motivated by a desire to remain uninformed so as to avoid an unwanted change in beliefs. We show that willful inattention plays a key role in several important policy problems, and we discuss strategies for mitigating its negative effects.