Avoidance of information regarding likely bad outcomes or what we don’t want to know is one of the most challenging biases that creates barriers from making good, sound-decisions and often can lead to disastrous outcomes.
As Seneca the Younger once puts it, “If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living.” Well if that’s the case, then a mindfulness practice puts you one step closer to a life worth living by helping you face information that you fear or are anxious about…at least according to a recent study published in Economic Letters.
The study included 261 participants and were divided into two groups. The first group received mindfulness training and the other received music intervention. The subjects were to complete assessments before and after to measure information avoidance, mindfulness, and stress levels.
The mindfulness group engaged in 15-minute mindfulness training every day for two weeks. This mindfulness training occurred in 3 stages: bringing awareness to the present moment, mindful breathing while observing thoughts without judgement, and body scanning of observing other sensations in the body without judgement.
The music group simply listened to relaxing music.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that those who received the mindfulness training were more willing and open to receive information that was potentially negative than those who received the music intervention.
“The costs of information avoidance for individuals, society and the economy are potentially substantial (from individuals unwilling to learn about their health, including whether or not they carry infectious diseases, to students unwilling to check their marks, to investors holding off looking at their stocks’ performance), so understanding what might drive some individuals to avoid information more than others is important.”
“Our evidence suggests that people in the population who spend more of their time inhabiting mindful states are better able to look at potentially negative, but nonetheless useful, information about themselves and the world. Supplementary evidence suggests that it may be mindfulness’s effects on emotion regulation (specifically, non-reaction to emotions) that acts as a potential mechanism through which this greater tolerance for information operates,” stated the study.
This powerful intervention can be enacted in everyday life by anyone in any activity through the day. So shut off the headphones and be present wherever you’re at while doing whatever it is you are doing. Facing difficult information is a necessity to becoming a better person and improving our relationship with others.
As Socrates said, “He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy.” In this case, your enemy is your own fear and ego.
E Ash et al. Mindfulness reduces information avoidance. Economics Letters. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2023.110997
