Abstract
Does cognitive motivation influence how people gather and interpret information about COVID-19 and their adherence to measures? To address these questions, we conducted a longitudinal survey among European and American respondents. Wave 1 (N = 501) was conducted on March 27, 2020 and Wave 2 (N = 326) on July 1, 2020. We assessed COVID-19 knowledge, endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories, media use, Need for Cognition (NC), Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC), and self-reported adherence to governmental measures taken. Results showed that nearly three-quarters of our respondents actively searched for information about COVID-19. Most at least once a day. Information seeking behaviour was not influenced by cognitive motivation (i.e., NC and NCC). However, cognitive motivation was related to (1) knowledge about COVID-19, (2) conspiracy rejection, and (3) change in knowledge over time. Respondents with more knowledge on COVID-19 also indicated to adhere more often to measures taken by their government. Self-reported adherence to measures was not influenced by cognitive motivation. Implications of these findings will be discussed.
Highlights
IntroductionDoes cognitive motivation influence how people gather and interpret information about COVID-19 and their adherence to measures?
Does cognitive motivation influence how people gather and interpret information about COVID-19 and their adherence to measures? To address these questions, we conducted a longitudinal survey among European and American respondents
We addressed the following research questions: How do COVID-19 knowledge and endorsement of conspiracy theories change over time? What is the relation between these changes, Need for Cognition (NC), and Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC)? How are NC and NCC associated with adherence to governmental measures regarding COVID-19? And what are the most respected organizations and sources for obtaining information and guidelines about COVID-19 and how is this related to NC and NCC?
Summary
Does cognitive motivation influence how people gather and interpret information about COVID-19 and their adherence to measures? We investigated whether people’s cognitive motivation to understand the world could predict how people acquire, interpret, and process information about COVID-19. To examine people’s gathering and comprehension of information related to the COVID-10 pandemic, we conducted an online survey in two waves. In Wave 1 we administered two standardized tests of cognitive motivation, Need for C ognition[2,3,4], and Need for Cognitive C losure[5] We used these measures to assess responses in Wave 1 as well as any changes on the COVID-19 Knowledge Test responses in Wave 2. Group, Learning and Innovation Center, Avans University of Applied Sciences, Breda, The Netherlands. *email: Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:6569
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