Choosing Ignorance: 40% Shun Consequence Knowledge for Selfish Gains
upstart writes:
"Examples of such willful ignorance abound in everyday life, such as when consumers ignore information about the problematic origins of the products they buy," said lead author Linh Vu, MS, a doctoral candidate at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
"We wanted to know just how prevalent and how harmful willful ignorance is, as well as why people engage in it."
[...] Across the studies, the researchers found that when given an option, 40% of people chose not to learn the consequences of their actions. That willful ignorance was correlated with less altruism: People were 15.6 percentage points more likely to be generous to someone else when they were told the consequences of their choice compared with when they were allowed to remain ignorant.
The researchers hypothesized that one reason for willful ignorance might be that some people behave altruistically because they want to maintain a positive self-image of being an altruistic person. In those cases, willful ignorance can allow them to maintain that self-image without having to act in an altruistic way.
[...] "While most people are willing to do the right thing when they are fully informed of the consequences of their actions, this willingness is not always because people care for others.
"A part of the reasons why people act altruistically is due to societal pressures as well as their desire to view themselves in a good light. Since being righteous is often costly, demanding people to give up their time, money and effort, ignorance offers an easy way out."
Original Research: Open access.
"Ignorance by Choice: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Underlying Motives of Willful Ignorance and Its Consequences" by Shaul Shalvi et al. Psychological Bulletin
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