Emotions as motivators for information seeking: A conceptual analysis

•A conceptual analysis examines how emotions and feelings motivate information seeking.•Emotions and feelings start, expand, limit, or terminate information seeking.•Negative emotions and feelings may lead to avoidance of information seeking.•Anxiety and fear motivate information seeking in work and non-work contexts.•Positive emotions such as joy primarily motivate information seeking in leisure contexts.

This conceptual analysis of how emotions and feelings are characterized as motivators for information seeking draws on the appraisal theories suggesting that emotions motivate individuals by triggering action readiness to approach or avoid sources of information. The findings indicate that emotions and feelings motivate in five major ways: they start, expand, limit, or terminate the information-seeking process, or they lead to information avoidance. Information scientists have mainly characterized the motivational aspects of negatively colored emotions such as anxiety and fear while the role of positive emotions such as joy has remained secondary.