Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Researchers and news providers have increasingly aimed to identify the distinct motivational factors that promote news-seeking behaviour. However, existing theoretical approaches are rarely data-driven and existing media strategies have not been empirically tested. Here, we created 24 questionnaire items capturing a range of motivations that might support active news-seeking among an undergraduate sample (Study 1). Through factor analysis, we identified three distinct motivational factors: ‘Informational Updating’, ‘Understanding & Sense-Making’, and ‘Affect Regulation’. Among these factors, ‘Informational Updating’ was most strongly predictive of young adults’ news-seeking frequency. Furthermore, this relationship could not be explained by individuals’ general tendencies to express curiosity (i.e., trait curiosity). In a pre-registered follow-up study (Study 2), we next asked whether the same factors that promote general news-seeking would also promote news-seeking surrounding a specific world event: the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Although all three motivational factors individually predicted news-seeking frequency surrounding the invasion, only the influence of ‘Understanding & Sense-Making’ remained significant while controlling for the remaining factors. Our data suggest that the desire to stay informed may be the strongest driver of general news-seeking tendencies, but that other motivational factors can take precedence for specific, major news topics.
Source: Scientific Reports
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
OpenAlex ID: W7166706501