"Thinking about long-term consequences is key to mitigating the possible negative effects of curiosity," Hsee says. In other words, don't read online comments. 6/6
Why do people read negative Internet comments and do other things that will obviously be painful? Because humans have an inherent need to resolve uncertainty, according to a recent study in Psychological Science.
These results suggest that imagining the outcome of following through on one's curiosity ahead of time can help determine whether it is worth the endeavor. 5/
Unhealthy curiosity is possible to resist, however. In a final experiment, participants who were encouraged to predict how they would feel after viewing an unpleasant picture were less likely to choose to see such an image. 4/
Curiosity is often considered a good instinct—it can lead to new scientific advances, for instance—but sometimes such inquiry can backfire. The insight that curiosity can drive you to do self-destructive things is a profound one. 3/
The new research reveals that the need to know is so strong that people will seek to satisfy their curiosity even when it is clear the answer will hurt. 2/