Inefficient prioritization of task-relevant attributes during instrumental information demand (v1)

This study collected data on a two-lottery information demand task to study human information-seeking behavior in instrumental and non-instrumental conditions. In all trials, the lotteries were identifiable as having high or low variance (ranges of 120 vs 30 points) and had expected values that varied independently. Participants were instructed that (1) one prize will be selected from each lottery and (2) the total point payoff of the trial will be the sum of the prizes. Participants chose one lottery whose value they wished to reveal, while remaining ignorant about the value from the other lottery. In the second and third blocks, instrumental manipulations were added that required that participant to use the revealed information to answer an additional question to obtain the maximum reward. Questionnaire data was also collected to study the relationship between information-seeking behavior and personality traits. The questionnaire data includes participants responses to the following: (1) Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Approach System (BISBAS); (2) Five Dimensional Curiosity (5DC); (3) Big Five; and (4) Need for Cognition.