It has positive consequences for the world and people individually to stay informed about and be interested in complex information. However, this will be difficult when people do not understand the...Show moreIt has positive consequences for the world and people individually to stay informed about and be interested in complex information. However, this will be difficult when people do not understand the complex information, get confused and avoid the complexity. A previous study showed that openness to experience is associated with positive relations between interest and confusion. We argue that it is possible to create a mindset that makes people more open to the confusion caused by the complexity, which increases interest in complex information. We showed this increase in interest in complex information in an experiment with three texts about physics, while perceived complexity and confusion remained constant. Specifically, this mindset can be created with simply telling people what confusion is and why we experience it. Theoretical and practical implications are discussedShow less
Novel complexity, such as a new scientific discovery, can be evaluated as interesting and enjoyable, but can also sometimes be evaluated as too complex and cause avoidance when people feel too...Show moreNovel complexity, such as a new scientific discovery, can be evaluated as interesting and enjoyable, but can also sometimes be evaluated as too complex and cause avoidance when people feel too confused to fully appreciate it. The present research aimed to investigate whether novel-complex information would be evaluated as being more interesting and enjoyable when in an explorative mindset (focused on the discovery of any new information) versus a specific mindset (focused on the specific information that is missing). This was tested by conducting an evaluation study on scientific titles, where participants were randomly assigned to two conditions: a specific mindset condition versus an explorative mindset condition. Results showed that unlike what was predicted, no differences were found between the two mindset conditions in the ratings of complexity, interest, or enjoyability for the evaluation of the complex scientific titles. Limitations and future recommendations are discussed.Show less
