Novelty preferences depend on goals

Abstract

People are sometimes drawn to novel items, but other times prefer familiar ones. In the present research we show, though, that both children’s and adults’ preferences for novel versus familiar items depend on their goals. Across four experiments, we showed 4- to 7-year-olds (total N = 498) and adults (total N = 659) pairs of artifacts where one was familiar and the other was novel (e.g., a four-legged chair and ten-legged chair). In Experiment 1 , children wanted to have familiar artifacts, but to learn about novel ones. Experiment 2 replicated this pattern using a simpler procedure, and found the same pattern in adults. In Experiment 3 , 4- to 6-year-olds and adults more strongly preferred familiar items when choosing which they would rather have than when choosing which they would rather try using. Finally, Experiment 4 replicated adults’ preferences to have familiar items and learn about novel ones with an additional set of items. Together these findings show that preferences for novelty depend on people’s goals. We suggest these effects arise because children and adults are motivated both by the promise of information and the desire for safe options in high commitment decisions that entail risk. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13423-022-02118-9.

Local or foreign? Flexibility in children’s preference for similar others.

“…Children’s flexible preferences for similar others could also reflect a sensitivity to risk and commitment. Children may prefer similarity when their judgments involve risk and commitment, but this preference may disappear when judgments do not bring risk (for related discussion, see Sehl et al, 2022). Liking someone can be risky—we often spend time with people we think we might like, and so we may regret our efforts if we discover they are actually boring or unpleasant.…”

Curiosity and information-seeking behaviour: a review of psychological research and a comparison with the information science literature

“…The role of novelty was also considered by Sehl et al (2022) who researched what choices children made, finding that "Children preferred novelty when choosing what to learn about, but mostly favored familiarity when choosing what they would rather have" (p. 2295). The experiment was repeated with adults, with the same result.…”