Older adults tend to seek more specific information while younger adults prefer a diversive approach, according to new research in Psychology & Aging.
Noninstrumental information seeking, driven by curiosity, is common across various contexts in daily life. Prior studies suggest that aging may reduce overall information-seeking behavior and curiosity. However, few studies have examined whether the type of information sought changes with age. This is important because curiosity and knowledge acquisition are essential for adaptive aging. Greta M. Fastrich and colleagues investigated whether adults exhibit different information-seeking behaviors—specifically, diversive (exploring new topics) or specific (deepening knowledge on familiar topics)—as they age.
The study involved 498 participants aged 12 to 79 who were recruited from the London Science Museum. Participants selected one of five broad themes: mythical beasts, historical expeditions, prehistoric animals, lesser-known scientists, and lesser-known countries. Once they chose a theme, they rated their prior knowledge on a 7-point Likert scale and then selected a specific topic within that theme (e.g., “Glyptodon” for prehistoric animals).
After selecting a topic, participants were presented with short factual statements, followed by options to either learn more about the same topic (specific information seeking) or switch to a new topic (diversive information seeking). They could read up to 10 facts for each topic and up to 80 facts in total across multiple topics.
The facts were presented in a random order, and the participants could spend as much time as they wished reading each fact and making their choices. Data were collected on how many facts each participant read, whether they chose to continue reading within a topic or switch, and their self-reported curiosity and interest in the material.
The results revealed significant age-related differences in information-seeking strategies. As people aged, they increasingly favored specific information seeking, choosing to stay within a topic and explore more facts about it rather than switching to new topics. Older participants read more facts per topic, showing a clear preference for deepening their knowledge rather than broadening it. In contrast, younger participants exhibited more diversive information seeking, frequently switching between topics to explore a wider range of material. This age-related shift in behavior was subtle but consistent: for each additional year in age, participants were slightly more likely to stay within a topic and less likely to explore a new one.
Additionally, the researchers found that participants’ self-reported curiosity and interest were related to their information-seeking choices. Participants who rated themselves as more interested in a fact were more likely to continue within the same topic, although curiosity ratings before reading the facts were not as strongly linked to whether they would stay or switch.
Interestingly, the older participants also reported higher levels of interest in the topics they chose to explore in depth, suggesting that their choices may have been driven by both curiosity and a desire to build on existing knowledge.
These results suggest that information-seeking strategies evolve with age, with older adults showing a preference for specific information seeking, potentially due to their broader prior knowledge.
One limitation is the lack of representation of older adults in the sample, limiting the ability to capture potential qualitative differences in information-seeking behaviors among the oldest participants.
The study, “Adult Age Differences in Noninstrumental Information-Seeking Strategies”, was authored by Greta M. Fastrich, Lily FitzGibbon, Johnny K. Lau, Sumeyye Aslan, Michiko Sakaki, and Kou Murayama.