Distinct motivational factors shape news-seeking in young adults

Le résumé fourni par la source

Researchers and news providers have increasingly aimed to identify the distinct motivational factors that promote news-seeking behaviour. However, existing theoretical approaches are rarely data-driven and existing media strategies have not been empirically tested. Here, we created 24 questionnaire items capturing a range of motivations that might support active news-seeking among an undergraduate sample (Study 1). Through factor analysis, we identified three distinct motivational factors: ‘Informational Updating’, ‘Understanding & Sense-Making’, and ‘Affect Regulation’. Among these factors, ‘Informational Updating’ was most strongly predictive of young adults’ news-seeking frequency. Furthermore, this relationship could not be explained by individuals’ general tendencies to express curiosity (i.e., trait curiosity). In a pre-registered follow-up study (Study 2), we next asked whether the same factors that promote general news-seeking would also promote news-seeking surrounding a specific world event: the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Although all three motivational factors individually predicted news-seeking frequency surrounding the invasion, only the influence of ‘Understanding & Sense-Making’ remained significant while controlling for the remaining factors. Our data suggest that the desire to stay informed may be the strongest driver of general news-seeking tendencies, but that other motivational factors can take precedence for specific, major news topics.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.