Epress.am News from Armenia
People who know less about challenging social issues, are more likely to want to avoid becoming well-informed about them, according to a new report.
The study looked at people’s knowledge and willingness to learn about important complex issues such as the economy, energy consumption and the environment, the Daily Mail reported.
And it revealed that the more urgent the issue, the more people want to remain unaware, according to a paper published online in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
“These studies were designed to help understand the so-called ‘ignorance is bliss’ approach to social issues,” said author Steven Shepherd, a graduate student with the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
“The findings can assist educators in addressing significant barriers to getting people involved and engaged in social issues.”
Through a series of five studies conducted in 2010 and 2011 with 511 adults in the United States and Canada, the researchers described ‘a chain reaction from ignorance about a subject to dependence on and trust in the government to deal with the issue.’
In one study, participants who felt most affected by the economic recession avoided information challenging the government’s ability to manage the economy.
However, they did not avoid positive information, the study said.
“People tend to respond by psychologically ‘outsourcing’ the issue to the government, which in turn causes them to trust and feel more dependent on the government. Ultimately, they avoid learning about the issue because that could shatter their faith in the government,” said co-author Aaron C. Kay, of Duke University.