Information Avoidance in Consumer Choice: Do Avoidance Tendencies and Motives Vary by Age?

ABSTRACT

Prior research suggests that older adults seek less information in consumer choices than younger adults do. However, it remains unclear if intentional information avoidance plays a role in such effects. To test this possibility, we examined age differences in deliberate information avoidance in consumer decisions and explored a range of potential motives. Adult lifespan samples completed two pre-registered online studies, which assessed information avoidance using a slider scale (Study 1, N =195) and a forced-choice task (Study 2, N = 500). In Study 1, age differences in information avoidance were not significant, but methodological limitations could have obscured age effects. In Study 2, age was associated with higher information avoidance. Avoidance was higher among participants who reported that the information would not impact decision preferences, would elicit more negative affect, and would be useless. Although age was associated with lower perceived impact on decision preferences and lower concerns about affective responses, age differences in information avoidance remained significant when these variables were statistically controlled. In conclusion, in the context of consumer choices, deliberate information avoidance is higher among older consumers. Thus, interventions to promote the acquisition of relevant information would benefit from being tailored to the target age group.

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Dr. Kaitlin Woolley for her helpful feedback on our study materials.

The present manuscript is based on Stephanie Deng’s 2021 honors thesis and has previously been presented at the following events:

Deng, S. L., Nolte, J., & Löckenhoff, C. E. (2020). Information avoidance in decision making: Do the reasons vary by age? Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (virtual conference).

Deng, S. L. (2020). Information avoidance in decision making: Do the reasons vary by age? CURB and CURBx 6th annual research forum, Cornell University.

Data Availability Statement

All study materials can be made available upon request to the corresponding author.

To obtain raw data, coded data, variable keys, or analysis code, please inquire with the corresponding author. Requests should be addressed at [email protected].

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Notes

1. Note that other information avoidance motives exist but are not as relevant to the current studies, which focus on the avoidance of potentially aversive information that is of relevance to one’s decision preferences. To illustrate, people may also avoid information to stay impartial, avoid liability, gain a strategic advance, or maintain a (positive) surprise, such as a baby’s sex (Gigerenzer & Garcia-Retamero, 2017; Golman, Hagmann, & Loewenstein, 2017; Hertwig & Engel, 2016, 2021).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by (1) two seed grants awarded to Julia Nolte by Cornell University’s Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Decision Research (LEEDR), (2) a thesis grant issued to Julia Nolte by the Department of Human Development at Cornell University, (3) a Cornell University Alan D. Mathios Research and Service Grant awarded to Stephanie Deng, (4) a Cornell University Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholars funds awarded to Stephanie Deng, and (5) a grant issued to Corinna Löckenhoff through the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (1R01AG068093-01).