THE DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE – NEURAL MECHANISMS OF INFORMATION-SEEKING

Grant number: DP180102383 | Funding period: 2018 - 2022

Completed

Abstract

This project aims to determine the mechanisms that drive individuals to seek out information, and to characterise the neural processes that underlie how that information is valued. The project tests the idea that information is represented in the brain as a form of reward. The results are expected to contribute significant mechanistic insights at the level of brain and behaviour on the nature of information value. This is likely to have wide-ranging implications across multiple domains of human endeavour, including education, work-place efficiency, policy development, and consumer behaviour.

Related publications (5)

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Hedonism as a motive for information search: biased information-seeking leads to biased beliefs.

Matthew Jiwa, Patrick S Cooper, Trevor T-J Chong, Stefan Bode

2023-02-06

Confirmation bias in information-search contributes to the formation of polarized echo-chambers of beliefs. However, the role of v..

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Neurocomputational mechanisms underlying the subjective value of information

Ariel X-A Goh, Daniel Bennett, Stefan Bode, Trevor T-J Chong

2021-12-13

Humans have a striking desire to actively seek new information, even when it is devoid of any instrumental utility. However, the m..

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Does openness/intellect predict sensitivity to the reward value of information?

Luke D Smillie, Daniel Bennett, Nicholas P Tan, Kiran Sutcliffe, Kirill Fayn, Stefan Bode, Jan Wacker

2021-05-11

A recent theory proposes that the personality trait openness/intellect is underpinned by differential sensitivity to the reward va..

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Choosing increases the value of non-instrumental information

Matthew Jiwa, Patrick S Cooper, Trevor T-J Chong, Stefan Bode

2021-04-22

Curiosity pervades all aspects of human behaviour and decision-making. Recent research indicates that the value of information is ..

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Anxious and Obsessive-Compulsive Traits Are Independently Associated With Valuation of Noninstrumental Information

Daniel Bennett, Kiran Sutcliffe, Nicholas Poh-Jie Tan, Luke D Smillie, Stefan Bode

2021-04-01

Aversion to uncertainty about the future has been proposed as a transdiagnostic trait underlying psychiatric diagnoses including o..