The Effect of Self-Confidence and Anxiety on Information Seeking in Consumer Risk Reduction

The authors examine the effect of generalized self-confidence, anxiety, and specific self-confidence on consumers’ tendency to seek information sources as a means of reducing purchasing uncertainty. Consumers were asked to rate their tendency to seek six information sources for each of five products. The products differed in their degree of performance and social risk. The findings suggest that specific self-confidence about the product decision is significantly related to information seeking.