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A normative perspective on information avoidance behaviors: Separating various types of avoidance-related norms

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Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 15. Juni 2023

Abstract

Information avoidance is a prevalent communication phenomenon that is less well understood than information seeking. The present study adopts a social-normative perspective on information avoidance as social norms are powerful drivers of behaviors. We aim to separate various types of avoidance-related norms and examine how they relate to information avoidance intentions about the COVID-19 vaccination. Our online survey of a stratified sample of the German population (N = 1,508) revealed that there are personal and societal-level injunctive, descriptive and subjective norms. Except for societal-level descriptive norms, all norms were related to increased avoidance intention. Personal-level norms were revealed to be more important than societal-level norms in predicting avoidance behaviors.

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Published Online: 2023-06-15
Published in Print: 2025-03-31

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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