The impact of intrinsic and extrinsic goals on information selection and appreciation

Abstract

Recent statistics indicate an alarmingly high proportion of obesity and eating disorder symptomatology in the Canadian population, despite the abundance of informative messages about healthy eating and weight management. This study explores information framing as a communication strategy. Twelve informative articles were created, each one framing one of two types of goals (intrinsic or extrinsic). Female participants (N=59) were asked to choose two to four of the 12 articles, read and evaluate them. It was hypothesized that women would choose articles that are concordant with their own goals, and that these articles would receive a more favourable evaluation than articles that were not goal-concordant. Results partially supported the hypotheses. Higher extrinsic goals lead to selecting more extrinsic-framed articles, rating intrinsic articles less favourably, and perceiving both types of articles as being useful towards reaching extrinsic goals. Intrinsic goals did not relate to any of these outcomes. Results suggest that individuals with high extrinsic goals might be seeking out information that confirms the importance of such goals. Theoretical implications for message framing and Self-Determination Theory are discussed. Key words: intrinsic and extrinsic goals, message framing, Self-Determination Theory