Curiosity and Control: On the Determinants of the Search for Social Knowledge

Gettysburg CollegeThis report concerns the hypothesis that people will be particularly inclined toseek information about others when they have recently been deprived of control.In Part 1 of a two-part experiment, some participants experienced noncontrollableoutcomes on a problem-solving task; others had no such experience. Participantswere then introduced to what was ostensibly a second unrelated study in whichthey expected to interview another individual. Some participants were led tobelieve that acquiring information about the interviewee would have high utility;others were given no such expectation. The effects of these manipulations ofcontrol deprivation and information utility on participants' inclinations to seekinformation about the interviewee were assessed. As predicted, participants whoexperienced noncontrollable outcomes during Part 1 were particularly likely toseek highly diagnostic information during Part 2. There was also an independenttendency for participants to seek highly diagnostic information when they be-lieved that the information had high utility. The relationship between the motiveto maintain control and the processes by which people formulate and sustainimages of themselves and others is discussed.

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