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Wedderhoff O, Chasiotis A, Rosman T. When freedom of choice leads to bias: How threat fosters selective exposure to health information. Front Psychol 2022; 13:937699. [PMID: 36312070 PMCID: PMC9606804 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.937699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Selective exposure to online health information can be ascribed to two related defense motives: the motivation to confirm one's subjective perceptions and the motivation to protect relevant parts of the self-image, such as physical integrity. Our aim was to identify how these motives come into effect in the context of a health threat (fictitious feedback on an alleged heart disease risk). In a preregistered online study with N = 763 participants, we analyzed the impact of perceived and suggested risk on the degree of bias in selecting risk-related information on a fictitious Google search results page. Applying a 2 × 2 design with the experimental factor "risk feedback" and the quasi-experimental factor "perceived risk," we formulated six hypotheses. First, we expected a main effect of perceived risk on selective exposure to information suggesting no risk, and second, we hypothesized a main effect of perceived risk on mean quality rating of information suggesting a risk. Third, we proposed a main effect of risk feedback on selective exposure to information which suggests no risk, and fourth, we proposed a main effect of risk feedback on mean quality rating of information suggesting a risk. Fifth, we expected an interaction effect between perceived and suggested risk, and sixth, we proposed an interaction effect between perceived and suggested risk in different forms for each of the four conditions on quality ratings. Only the third hypothesis was confirmed: Receiving information which suggested a health risk increased the tendency to select information denying the risk. Additional exploratory analyses revealed moderator effects of health information literacy and participant age on the aforementioned relationships. In sum, our results underline the crucial role of defense motives in the context of a suggested health threat.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tom Rosman
- Research Literacy Unit, Leibniz Institute for Psychology, Trier, Germany
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Hendriks F, Mayweg-Paus E, Felton M, Iordanou K, Jucks R, Zimmermann M. Constraints and Affordances of Online Engagement With Scientific Information-A Literature Review. Front Psychol 2020; 11:572744. [PMID: 33362638 PMCID: PMC7759725 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.572744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Many urgent problems that societies currently face—from climate change to a global pandemic—require citizens to engage with scientific information as members of democratic societies as well as to solve problems in their personal lives. Most often, to solve their epistemic aims (aims directed at achieving knowledge and understanding) regarding such socio-scientific issues, individuals search for information online, where there exists a multitude of possibly relevant and highly interconnected sources of different perspectives, sometimes providing conflicting information. The paper provides a review of the literature aimed at identifying (a) constraints and affordances that scientific knowledge and the online information environment entail and (b) individuals' cognitive and motivational processes that have been found to hinder, or conversely, support practices of engagement (such as critical information evaluation or two-sided dialogue). Doing this, a conceptual framework for understanding and fostering what we call online engagement with scientific information is introduced, which is conceived as consisting of individual engagement (engaging on one's own in the search, selection, evaluation, and integration of information) and dialogic engagement (engaging in discourse with others to interpret, articulate and critically examine scientific information). In turn, this paper identifies individual and contextual conditions for individuals' goal-directed and effortful online engagement with scientific information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friederike Hendriks
- Institute for Psychology in Education and Instruction, Department of Psychology and Sport Studies, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Mayweg-Paus
- Institute of Educational Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Einstein Center Digital Future, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mark Felton
- Department of Teacher Education, Lurie College of Education, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, United States
| | - Kalypso Iordanou
- School of Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Larnaka, Cyprus
| | - Regina Jucks
- Institute for Psychology in Education and Instruction, Department of Psychology and Sport Studies, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Maria Zimmermann
- Institute of Educational Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Einstein Center Digital Future, Berlin, Germany
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Chen T. A systematic integrative review of cognitive biases in consumer health information seeking: emerging perspective of behavioral information research. JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION 2020. [DOI: 10.1108/jd-01-2020-0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
PurposeWith the growing interest in behavioral health and medical decision-making, this systematic integrative review aims to understand research on cognitive biases in the context of consumer health information seeking and where future research opportunities may reside.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a systematic review protocol, 40 empirical research articles, out of 1,127 journal research papers from 12 academic databases, from 1995 to 2019, are included for review.FindingsThe study of cognitive biases in consumer health information seeking is a nascent and fast-growing phenomenon, with variety in publication venues and research methods. Among the 16 biases investigated, optimistic bias and confirmation bias have attracted most attention (46.9%). Researchers are most interested in specific disease/illness (35%) and the health factors of consumer products (17.5%). For theoretical presence, about one-third of the reviewed articles have cited behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman, although most of the references are the early works of Kahneman.Research limitations/implicationsAs an emerging research area, there exists plenty of cognitive biases to be investigated in the context of health information seeking. In the meantime, the adoption of more recent theoretical insights such as nudge for debiasing may enrich this research area. Health communication scientists may find incorporating the behavioral decision research framework enriches the disciplinary inquiry of health information seeking, while information scientists could use it to commence the cognitive turn of information science evolution.Originality/valueThrough evidence-based understanding, this review shows the potential research directions that health communication scientists and information scientists could contribute to optimize health decisions through the adoption of behavioral decision research framework.
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Sassenberg K, Scholl A. Linking regulatory focus and threat–challenge: transitions between and outcomes of four motivational states. EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2019.1647507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kai Sassenberg
- Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien
- University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Ford MT, Jebb AT, Tay L, Diener E. Internet Searches for Affect-Related Terms: An Indicator of Subjective Well-Being and Predictor of Health Outcomes across US States and Metro Areas. Appl Psychol Health Well Being 2018; 10:3-29. [PMID: 29457369 DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The present study explored the potential for internet search data to serve as indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) and predictors of health at the state and metro area levels. We propose that searches for positive and negative affect-related terms represent information-seeking behavior of individuals who are experiencing emotions and seeking information about them. METHOD Data on the frequency of Google searches for 15 affect terms were collected from Google's Trends website (trends.google.com). These were paired with data on health, self-reported emotions, psychological well-being, personality, and Twitter postings at the state and metro area levels. RESULTS Several internet search scores correlated with indicators of cardiovascular health and depression. Some search term scores also correlated strongly with self-reported emotions, well-being metrics, neuroticism, per capita income, and Twitter postings at the state or metro area level. Multiple regression analyses suggest that affect searches predict depression rates at the metro area level beyond the effects of income and other well-being measures. CONCLUSION The results highlight the promise and challenges of using internet search data at the aggregate level for physical and mental health assessment and surveillance.
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Becker D, Grapendorf J, Greving H, Sassenberg K. Perceived Threat and Internet Use Predict Intentions to Get Bowel Cancer Screening (Colonoscopy): Longitudinal Questionnaire Study. J Med Internet Res 2018; 20:e46. [PMID: 29415872 PMCID: PMC5822037 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.9144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Revised: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 12/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Many people use the Internet for health-related information search, which is known to help regulate their emotional state. However, not much is known yet about how Web-based information search together with negative emotional states (ie, threat of cancer diagnosis) relate to preventive medical treatment decisions (ie, colonoscopy intentions). Objective The aim of this study was to investigate how frequency of health-related Internet use together with perceived threat of a possible (bowel) cancer diagnosis influences intentions to get a colonoscopy. Previous research has shown that people who experience threat preferentially process positive information in an attempt to downregulate the aversive emotional state. The Internet can facilitate this regulatory strategy through allowing self-directed, unrestricted, and thus biased information search. In the context of threat regarding a possible bowel cancer diagnosis, feelings of threat can still be effectively reduced through cancer screening (ie, colonoscopy). We, therefore, predict that in that particular context, feelings of threat should be related to stronger colonoscopy intentions, and that this relationship should be enhanced for people who use the Internet often. Methods A longitudinal questionnaire study was conducted among healthy participants who were approaching or just entering the bowel cancer risk group (aged 45-55 years). Perceived threat of a possible (bowel) cancer diagnosis, frequency of health-related Internet use, and intentions to have a colonoscopy were assessed at 2 time points (6-month time lag between the 2 measurement points T1 and T2). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test whether threat and Internet use at T1 together predicted colonoscopy intentions at T2. Results In line with our predictions, we found that the threat of a possible (bowel) cancer diagnosis interacted with the frequency of Internet use (both T1) to predict colonoscopy intentions (T2; B=.23, standard error [SE]=0.09, P=.01). For people who used the Internet relatively often (+1 SD), the positive relationship between threat and colonoscopy intentions was significantly stronger (B=.56, SE=0.15, P<.001) compared with participants who used the Internet less often (−1 SD; B=.17, SE=0.09, P=.07). This relationship was unique to Web-based (vs other types of) information search and independent of risk factors (eg, body mass index [BMI] and smoking). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that health-related Internet use can facilitate emotion-regulatory processes. People who feel threatened by a possible (bowel) cancer diagnosis reported stronger colonoscopy intentions, especially when they used the Internet often. We propose that this is because people who experience threat are more likely to search for and process information that allows them to downregulate their aversive emotional state. In the present case of (bowel) cancer prevention, the most effective way to reduce threat is to get screened.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Becker
- Social Processes Lab, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - Hannah Greving
- Knowledge Construction Lab, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Kai Sassenberg
- Social Processes Lab, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany.,University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Mason L, Scrimin S, Tornatora MC, Zaccoletti S. Emotional reactivity and comprehension of multiple online texts. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Sassenberg K. [Digital media as laypeople's source of information about the environment and health]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 2017; 60:649-655. [PMID: 28447133 DOI: 10.1007/s00103-017-2549-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Over the last two decades, the Internet has become the primary source of information. Thanks to the Internet, laypeople have access to information from the health and the environmental sector, which was for a long time available only to experts (e. g. scientific publications, statistics). Information on the Internet varies in quality, as generally anybody can publish online, without any quality control. At the same time, Internet use comes with specific situational characteristics. Given that the amount of information is nearly unlimited and that this information is easily available via search engines, users are not restricted to one or just a few texts, but can choose between multiple sources depending on their motivation and interest. Together with the heterogeneity of the sources, this provides the basis for a strong impact of motivation on the process and the outcomes of information acquisition online. Based on empirical research in the domain of Internet searching in the health sector, the current article discusses the impact of the use of digital media in the context of environmental medicine. Research has led to four conclusions: (1) Users are not sufficiently sensitive to the quality of information. (2) Information supporting their own opinion is preferably processed. (3) Users who feel threatened focus on positive information. (4) Vigilant users focus on negative information, which might result in cyberchrondria. The implications of these effects for the use of digital media in the sector of environmental medicine are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Sassenberg
- Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien und Universität Tübingen, Schleichstr. 6, 72076, Tübingen, Deutschland.
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Wang Y, Wu L, Zhou H, Xu J, Dong G. Development and Validation of a Self-reported Questionnaire for Measuring Internet Search Dependence. Front Public Health 2016; 4:274. [PMID: 28066753 PMCID: PMC5167696 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Internet search has become the most common way that people deal with issues and problems in everyday life. The wide use of Internet search has largely changed the way people search for and store information. There is a growing interest in the impact of Internet search on users' affect, cognition, and behavior. Thus, it is essential to develop a tool to measure the changes in psychological characteristics as a result of long-term use of Internet search. The aim of this study is to develop a Questionnaire on Internet Search Dependence (QISD) and test its reliability and validity. We first proposed a preliminary structure and items of the QISD based on literature review, supplemental investigations, and interviews. And then, we assessed the psychometric properties and explored the factor structure of the initial version via exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The EFA results indicated that four dimensions of the QISD were very reliable, i.e., habitual use of Internet search, withdrawal reaction, Internet search trust, and external storage under Internet search. Finally, we tested the factor solution obtained from EFA through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of CFA confirmed that the four dimensions model fits the data well. In all, this study suggests that the 12-item QISD is of high reliability and validity and can serve as a preliminary tool to measure the features of Internet search dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Wang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University , Jinhua , China
| | - Lingdan Wu
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz , Konstanz , Germany
| | - Hongli Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University , Jinhua , China
| | - Jiaojing Xu
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University , Jinhua , China
| | - Guangheng Dong
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China; Institute of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
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Sassenberg K, Greving H. Internet Searching About Disease Elicits a Positive Perception of Own Health When Severity of Illness Is High: A Longitudinal Questionnaire Study. J Med Internet Res 2016; 18:e56. [PMID: 26944335 PMCID: PMC4799430 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.5140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2015] [Revised: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The Internet is one of the primary sources for health information. However, in research, the effects of Internet use on the perception of one’s own health have not received much attention so far. Objective This study tested how Internet use for acquiring health information and severity of illness influence patients with a chronic disease with regard to the perception of their own health. Negative psychological states are known to lead to preferential processing of positive information. In particular, the self-directed nature of Internet use provides room for such biases. Therefore, we predicted that patients experiencing negative health states more frequently, due to more frequent episodes of a chronic illness, will gain a more positive perception of their health if they use the Internet frequently to gain health information, but not if they use the Internet rarely. This effect was not expected for other sources of information. Methods A longitudinal questionnaire study with two measurement points—with a 7-month time lag—tested the hypothesis in a sample of patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (n=208). This study assessed patients’ frequency of Internet use, their participation in online social support groups, their use of other sources of health information, and several indicators of the participants’ perceptions of their own health. A structure equation model (SEM) was used to test the predictions separately for Internet searches and other sources of information. Results Data analysis supported the prediction; the interaction between frequency of health-related information searches and frequency of episodes at the first measurement point (T1) was related to participants’ positive perceptions of their own health at the second measurement point (T2) (B=.10, SE=.04, P=.02) above and beyond the perceptions of their own health at T1. When participants used the Internet relatively rarely (-1 SD), there was no relationship between frequency of episodes and positive perceptions of their own health (B=-.11, SE=.14, t203=-0.82, P=.41). In contrast, when participants used the Internet relatively often (+1 SD), the more frequently they had those episodes the more positive were the perceptions of their own health (B=.36, SE=.15, t203=2.43, P=.02). Additional SEM analyses revealed that this effect occurs exclusively when information is searched for on the Internet, but not when other sources of information are consulted, nor when online social support groups are joined. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that patients might process information from the Internet selectively, in an unbalanced, biased fashion, with the formation of a self-serving (ie, positive) perception of own health. At the same time, this bias contributes to the ability of patients to cope psychologically with their disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Sassenberg
- Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Social Processes Lab, Tübingen, Germany.
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Liu X, Wang J, Yin M, Edwards B, Xu P. Supervised learning of sparse context reconstruction coefficients for data representation and classification. Neural Comput Appl 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00521-015-2042-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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