The role of individual motivations in information source use and knowledge concerning divergent topics

Abstract

A survey (n=280) was conducted to examine the motivational nature of enduring involvement in terms of its relationship to information source usefulness and knowledge. The results of the study indicate that enduring, or personal, involvement is associated with perceptions of greater information source usefulness and high topic knowledge. High involvement also is linked to the use of a smaller group—or repertoire—of information sources that are topic dependent. These findings suggest that highly involved audiences are active information seekers and help to clarify conflicting findings from the media reliance literature concerning the impact of reliance on knowledge.