Berlin
Kendra Albright
Dr. Kendra Albright, Associate Professor, School of
Library and Information Science, University of
South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Email: kendraalbright@sc.edu
This paper was a keynote presentation at the international conference i3: Information: Interactions
and Impact, organised by the Robert Gordon Universitys Department of Information Management,
and held in Aberdeen, Scotland, 2225 June 2009.
Abstract
How does information lead to changes in human behavior? Why have current information theories been
inadequate to shed light on this and related questions? Library and Information Science (LIS) has
arrived at a crucial juncture in its relatively brief
theoretical history. In addition to the cognitive and
physical perspectives in our study of information, a
new paradigm has been suggested; the affective paradigm. This new perspective offers keys to unlocking questions about the nature of the interaction of
human and information. In recent years we have developed deeper knowledge and deeper specializations, drawing together and combining knowledge
from multiple fields in order to advance our own
knowledge. The relationship between information
needs and information seeking has been well studied.
The ways in which people use information is not as
well understood because of the complex nature of human behavior. Drawing from other fields that study
human behavior, however, muddies the traditional
boundaries of LIS, creating some possible discomfort as we trespass into lesser known intellectual territory. Pushing our boundaries also forces questions
of our self-identity as a discipline. What constitutes
Library and Information Science, either in whole or
in part, becomes more difficult to define and can
lead to greater fragmentation. Alternatively, the incorporation of multiple perspectives may be the defining core of what constitutes LIS. The focus of
suggests that information behavior is the combination of information needs, information seeking, and
information use. He proposes an iterative model in
which the user identifies a need, pursues formal or
informal sources and services that then produce information that the user may deem relevant, to varying degrees. If the user judges the information to be
less than satisfactory, the user may then need to repeat the search process. Wilson suggests that selective information may also be passed on by the user
to other people through information exchange or
transfer. A simplistic interpretation of the relationship between information needs, seeking, and use is
presented in Figure 1.
Information behavior is also commonly associated with sense-making, attributed to the work of
Brenda Dervin. Sense-making refers to an individuals awareness of their own situation and the ability
to understand situations of high complexity or uncertainty in order to make decisions. Dervin challenges the view of information as thing, i.e., as fixed
and unchanging or as a commodity, and proposes a
view of information that is communicated rather
than transmitted, suggesting a two-way dialog rather
than a non- interaction between user and content.
Dervin proposes three information worlds in which
Information1 is objective; it describes reality and is
external to the self and external to data but is incomplete. Information2 is more subjective and refers
to ideas and is internal to the self, focusing on an
individuals own reality. Information3 includes the
process involved in making a decision (i.e. decisioning) and the process of becoming informed, i.e. the
relationship between Information1 and Information2.
The overall process is designed to understand how
people make sense of their worlds (Dervin 2003,
223).
The sense-making methodology, although widely
recognized and used in many studies, is only one of
many information behavior theories. In their book,
Theories of Information Behavior, Fisher, Erdelez
and McKechnie (2005), report the inclusion of
seventy-two perspectives on information behavior.
Grounded in cognitive perspectives, most of these
theories focus on the information processing of users in their sense-making tasks. Many of these theories examine the users situation or context in which
they are identifying a problem, seeking information,
and then assimilating the information in order to
make decisions.
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Kendra Albright
On reflection on these theories, however, it appears as though we stop short of actually investigating the meaning of information to users, which
suggests a deeper understanding of the individuals
themselves and how they respond to information. In
order to construct a deeper understanding of how
users interact with information, the notion of affect
has recently been identified as an important research
consideration. For example, the papers in Nahl and
Bilals (2008) Information and Emotion: The Emergent Affective Paradigm in Information Behavior
Research and Theory provide important ideas regarding the users affective state and its role in the
way users interact with information. Much of the
work presented in this volume examines the emotional aspects of information behavior within specific contexts. The perspectives in this book stem
from an examination of the users cognitive processes, including both thoughts and feelings in their
information behavior. The affective paradigm attempts to address the role of human emotions in the
information seeking process.
Understanding the users affective state from a
cognitive perspective provides important insight
into how users process information. The cognitive
perspective itself sees the human mind as an information processing machine, with three primary processes: 1) sensory input, 2) the internal processing
(i.e., thinking); and 3) output (i.e., verbalization).
Where these were historically seen by the field of
cognitive psychology as independent processes, they
are now viewed as interdependent and inclusive of
affective responses. It is clear that this is the root of
much information behavior theory, where information seeking centers on these three processes. Cognition and emotion are often synonymous with
thinking and feeling, yet they each bring a unique
perspective to the study of information behavior. A
cognitive perspective is based on the idea that any
processing of information, whether perceptual or
symbolic, is mediated by a system of categories or
concepts which, for the information-processing device, are a model of his world (De Mey 1977, xvi
xvii).
While cognitive processes (i.e., the ways in which
we think about things) are vital to our understanding
of the users mental processes, however, they do not
reveal the whole person; and while there is an increasing recognition of the importance of affect in
the discipline, it would be useful to expand our un-
images. He wanted to understand the parallel networks being activated simultaneously that contributed to the combination of thoughts, feelings, and
actions. In particular, he was interested in mistakes
in speech or memory that revealed the unconscious
conflict or desire. These are often referred to as
Freudian slips. An example is provided by Westen
(2007, 845) who tells the story of a woman who
was dating a much younger man and whose friends
werent very supportive. When asked how she felt
about the age difference, she said, Oh, it doesnt
mother.
The psychoanalytic perspective suggests that much
of our mental life (i.e., thoughts, feelings, motives)
is unconscious. The mental processes (both affective
and motivational) operate in parallel, allowing us to
have conflicting feelings. This perspective also believes that stable personality patterns begin in childhood as we develop mental representations of our
self and others, and the relationships we develop
guide our interactions. During the healthy development of personality, we learn to regulate our sexual
and aggressive feelings, leading to maturation and
an interdependent, rather than dependent, social
state.
There are numerous effects of unconscious emotions on our behavior. Decisions are not always
based on rational considerations of costs and benefits. Emotions are stronger predictors of decisions
than are cognitive attitudes (Westen 2007), although
attitudes have both an emotional and cognitive
component. Emotional reactions to risk often veer
from cognitive assessments of that risk. In general,
the greater the emotional salience, the more likely a
decision will be based on emotion. As Westen (2007,
99) says, Most of the time, this battle for control of
our minds occurs outside of awareness, leaving us
blind.
There is disagreement, however, regarding the nature of the unconscious between the psychoanalytic
and cognitive perspectives in psychology. The psychoanalytic perspective stresses the irrational nature
of the unconscious, particularly regarding sexual
and aggressive feelings and motives. The cognitive
perspective differs from the psychoanalytic, however, by suggesting that there is no fundamental difference between the conscious and unconscious; that
unconscious thoughts and feelings are there because
they never entered into consciousness or are simply
automatic (e.g. driving a car). The cognitive per-
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Kendra Albright
the top of the head and back a few inches. This area
of the brain is referred to as the prefrontal cortex
(Taylor 2009).
There are two regions of the prefrontal cortex that
are important. First, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is always active when people are making conscious choices. It is what gives people the ability to
hold information in our consciousness, like remembering the name of someone youve just met. This is
the part of the brain that is actively engaged when
people are reasoning and thinking, such as considering options (Westen 2007).
The second part of the prefrontal cortex is the
ventromedial prefrontal cortex which allows us to
register our feelings and then to regulate our emotions. This part of the cortex is densely connected to
the cerebral structures below the cortex that are involved in creating emotional states, such as the
amygdala. The amygdala is essential for decoding
emotions, responding in particular to threatening
stimuli. This area tends to be active whenever the
brain is wrestling with emotional issues (Taylor
2009). The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is important in linking thought and emotion, particularly in
using emotional reactions to guide decision making.
People who have damage to these emotion circuits often appear to have the capacity for reason-
2004
Artificial Intelligence
2005
1
Communications
Computer Science
Education
Engineering
Business Administration
Health
History
IS/Design
1
2
Linguistics
LIS
1
1
Interdisciplinary
Instructional Technology
3
1
36
33
41
MIS
Management
Philosophy
Operations Management
Psychology
Public Administration
Science
Sociology
Interdisciplinarity often refers to the participation of two or more fields of study where multidisciplinarity refers to making use of multiple disciplines at one time. From the descriptions in much
LIS literature, we are multidisciplinary, drawing
from multiple fields at any given time. This is reflected in the composition of the doctoral degrees of
new Assistant Professors in LIS. For the three years
between 2003 and 2005, there were 162 new Assistant Professors in LIS. The range of their disciplines
is presented in Table 1.
LIS accounts for 68% of the total degrees. For
each year, however, the total number for new Assistant Professors teaching in LIS programs who hold
doctorates outside LIS varies from 25% (2003
2004) to 36% (20022003).
If the LIS degrees were removed from the data,
the breakdown of other disciplines can be seen more
clearly (Table 2).
104
Kendra Albright
2004
Artificial Intelligence
Communications
1
4
Computer Science
Education
Engineering
1
1
2
3
3
Business Administration
Health
History
2005
Administration
American Civilization/Studies
Anthropology
Artificial Intelligence
Astronomy
Biology
Classics
1
Communication
21
18
18
Computer Science
43
48
48
IS/Design
Economics
Interdisciplinary
Education
36
44
43
Engineering
Instructional Technology
16
12
11
English
12
11
Folklore/Myth
Geography
24
26
11
21
13
12
Linguistics
MIS
Management
Philosophy
Operations Management
Psychology
Public Administration
Health
History
24
Information Systems/Technology/Design
Interdisciplinary
Science
Instructional Technology
Sociology
Law
Linguistics
Literature
Mathematics
Medical Informatics
Music
Nutrition
Philosophy
Political Science
57
15
17
17
Psychology
Public Administration
Science & Technology Studies
Sociology
Undesignated
36
34
Archival Studies
Community Health
Marketing
Statistics
Pros
Deepen our understanding of the meaning of the interaction between Maintain status-quo
Cons
Drawing from other fields that study human behavior brings benefits to all fields by advancing the
knowledge that is generated by their interaction.
LIS, for example, can advance our knowledge of information behavior by integrating psychoanalytic
perspectives of the role of unconscious emotions on
perceptions and interpretations of information problems. Psychoanalytic psychology can benefit from
the contextual examination of human behavior under
certain conditions. Both fields benefit from a broadened knowledge base that contributes to a deeper
understanding of human behavior.
Multidisciplinarity also promotes innovation by
encouraging and facilitating interaction between different disciplines. New perspectives on old problems can often spur creative thinking that leads to
potential solutions that may have been overlooked.
Adams (2006) suggests that creativity comes from
the convergence of knowledge, creative thinking,
and motivation. The confluence of multiple disciplines can facilitate all three through the exchange
of knowledge, the formation of new ideas and theories that arise from knowledge sharing, and the motivation that comes from fresh ideas and outside
perspectives. The outcome of creativity is innovation.
The down side of multidisciplinarity is that it
makes the traditional boundaries of LIS even more
ambiguous. How often do people outside our field
say they dont understand what it is we do? Additional disciplinary perspectives may compound
this problem. Multidisciplinarity also creates some
discomfort as we try to grasp new ideas, concepts,
and jargon. There is often a learning curve at the initial adoption of new, external ideas.
106
Kendra Albright
Notes
1. The author is aware of the debate and distinctions regarding
the conceptual and professional relationships between Librarianship and Information Science. This debate, however,
is not central to the point of this discussion and will not be
addressed.
2. It was interesting to note that the thesaurus itself reveals a
bias towards the cognitive perspective. While the term psychology is used for human mind or mind, the narrower
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Paper received 9 October 2009; accepted 10 February 2010.
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