People frequently face situations in which they must decide whether to obtain potentially useful information or to avoid it. Our research examines the psychological processes underlying curiosity, information-seeking behavior, and deliberate ignorance—the choice to avoid information even when it may be relevant to decision-making. While curiosity motivates people to acquire knowledge and reduce uncertainty, individuals sometimes prefer not to learn certain facts, particularly when the information may be unpleasant, emotionally threatening, or difficult to act upon.

In our work, we also study deliberate ignorance as a form of passive risk-taking: risks that arise not from harmful actions but from the decision to remain uninformed. Using experimental and behavioral approaches, we investigate when people choose to seek information and when they prefer to avoid it, and how these choices affect decisions in domains such as health, finance, and environmental behavior. Understanding the motivations behind both curiosity and avoidance helps explain why individuals sometimes fail to acquire information that could improve their well-being and decision outcomes.

For materials on this topic, see our lab's research publications.