who had received complex information about the economy and had answered a question about how the economy is affecting them directly. To test the links among dependence, trust and avoidance, researchers provided either a complex or simple description of the economy to a group of 58 Canadians, mean age 42, composed of 20 men and 38 women. The participants who received the complex description indicated higher levels of perceived helplessness in getting through the economic downturn, more dependence on and trust in the government to manage the economy, and less desire to learn more about the issue. 'This is despite the fact that, all else equal, one should have less trust in someone to effectively manage something that is more complex,' said co-author Aaron C. Kay, of Duke University. 'Instead, people tend to respond by psychologically 'outsourcing' the issue to the government, which in turn causes them to trust and feel more dependent on the government. 'Ultimately, they avoid learning about the issue because that could shatter their faith in the government.' Faith in the government: Ultimately, those polled avoided learning about issues because that could shatter their faith in the government (US President Obama pictured) Participants who felt unknowledgeable about oil supplies not only avoided negative information about the issue, they became even more reluctant to know more when the issue was urgent, as in an imminent oil shortage in the United States, according the authors. For this study, 163 Americans, with a mean age of 32 (70 men