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Interventions that reduce willful ignorance of policy-relevant information.

Linda Thunström,K. Veld,J. Shogren

Published 2025 in Current Opinion in Psychology

ABSTRACT

Informational policies such as labeling requirements and public awareness campaigns generally attract higher public support and face less political resistance than more interventionist policy measures such as taxes or bans. Yet, their behavioral impact is small, partly due to willful ignorance. This review discusses evidence of scalable, low-cost interventions that may reduce willful ignorance and increase information uptake. We group these interventions into two categories: (1) making information harder to ignore, through greater salience, strategic placement, and personalization; and (2) increasing perceived net benefits of becoming informed, by simplifying information, boosting self-efficacy, encouraging contemplation, framing outcomes as gains, bundling with valued content, or offering incentives. Evidence suggests these interventions can be effective at enhancing information uptake, but their impact often varies by context and population. We highlight the potential of using machine learning and AI to optimize the interventions' effectiveness, through both audience targeting and content tailoring.

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