Ignorance by Choice: The Underlying Motives of Willful Ignorance and Its Consequences

The researchers hypothesized that one reason for willful ignorance might be that some people behave altruistically because they want to maintain a positive self-image of being an altruistic person. In those cases, willful ignorance can allow them to maintain that self-image without having to act in an altruistic way.

The meta-analysis backed that up, according to study co-author Shaul Shalvi, PhD, a professor of behavioral ethics at the University of Amsterdam. That’s because people who chose to learn the consequences of their action were 7% more likely to be generous compared with participants who were given information by default. That suggests that truly altruistic people choose to learn the consequences of their actions. 

The findings are fascinating as they suggest a lot of the altruistic behaviors we observe are driven by a desire to behave as others expect us to.

While most people are willing to do the right thing when they are fully informed of the consequences of their actions, this willingness is not always because people care for others.

A part of the reasons why people act altruistically is due to societal pressures as well as their desire to view themselves in a good light. Since being righteous is often costly, demanding people to give up their time, money and effort, ignorance offers an easy way out.