Not All Explanations Are Sought: Information-Seeking Psychology for Human-Centered XAI

Abstract

This position paper argues that human-centered explainable AI (HCXAI) should incorporate insights from the psychology of information seeking. Drawing on Sharot and Sunstein's framework of information-seeking motives, we propose that people evaluate whether to engage with explanations based on three types of expected utility: instrumental (will it help me act better?), hedonic (will it make me feel better?), and cognitive (will it improve my understanding?). Each utility is estimated through a lens shaped by well-documented cognitive biases, including illusion of control, automation bias, unrealistic optimism, impact bias, overconfidence, and confirmation bias. These biases can lead to two failure modes: excessive information-seeking that fragments attention without improving decisions, and insufficient information-seeking that leaves critical risks and misunderstandings unexamined. This challenge is particularly acute for agentic AI systems, where explanations must support not just understanding a single output but anticipating cascading actions, assessing risks, and deciding when to intervene. By integrating information-seeking psychology into HCXAI, we advocate for a shift from making explanations available to making them sought: designing systems that account for when and why users actually want to know.