Enjoying the flow The role of personality, motivation and emotion in information behavior

I am late I am late I am late Thoughts Feelings Behavior

“Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it” Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

Emotional experience Negative – neutral – positive: Why? Negative – neutral – positive: Why? Motivation & self-reliance Motivation & self-reliance The experience of flow The experience of flow Practical implications Practical implications

Problems in Internet searching Information overload Information overload Formulating search strategies Formulating search strategies Critical evaluation Critical evaluationReaction: Simplifying Simplifying Satisficing – good enough result ok Satisficing – good enough result ok

Library anxiety (Mellon, 1986) 80 % of students feel anxious in a new library or searching in a new system 80 % of students feel anxious in a new library or searching in a new system Worry to appear stupid & incapable Worry to appear stupid & incapable Common for ambitious students Common for ambitious students Where can I find the documents I need? Where can I find the documents I need? How do I search efficiently? How do I search efficiently?

Yerkes-Dodson law (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908)

Personality & problem solving (Kernan & Mojena, 1973) Responsible & insecure students exaggerate information seeking Responsible & insecure students exaggerate information seeking Self-confident & dominant students seek too little Self-confident & dominant students seek too little

Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986). “Whether you think you can or think you can't you are right” (Henry Ford) Self-estimate influence performance Self-estimate influence performance Unpredictability of searching difficult for insecure persons Unpredictability of searching difficult for insecure persons People with low self-confidence may give up the search prematurely People with low self-confidence may give up the search prematurely

I feel a little anxious. I fear that I won’t be able to find what I need or that it might be very difficult. Woman, 25 yrs

Low motivation Imposed tasks Imposed tasks Fast surfing Fast surfing Lack of engagement Lack of engagement Easily available material Easily available material Problems with relevance judgment & Problems with relevance judgment & critical evaluation of information critical evaluation of information Information seeking boring & difficult Information seeking boring & difficult

The most difficult and annoying part of our task is looking up the information. It’s not that hard, but it seems like a waste of time. 8 th grade boy

Negative search experiences Complicated search systems Complicated search systems Information overload Information overload Imposed tasks Imposed tasks Lack of information literacy skills Lack of information literacy skills Insecurity Insecurity Lack of motivation Lack of motivation

Goal-oriented searching Persistence & conscientiousness Persistence & conscientiousness Ambition & self-discipline Ambition & self-discipline Effort in information seeking Effort in information seeking Deep diving Deep diving

If it came an obstacle I just pushed harder to overcome it. Time management is important and you have to take advantage of your sources and time. 10 th grade boy

As long as I make progress, I feel I am making efficient use of my time. I get exited if I find exactly what I need or a perfect search term. Woman, 26 yrs

High motivation Enjoyment of information seeking Enjoyment of information seeking Reflective & analytical Reflective & analytical Interest in learning Interest in learning Quality-conscious Quality-conscious

It is pretty easy to search information because I am very interested in the topic. Girl, grade 10

Openness to experience Creativity, curiosity, rich imagination Creativity, curiosity, rich imagination Enjoy discovery & information seeking Enjoy discovery & information seeking Explore wide variety of sources Explore wide variety of sources Incidental information acquisition Incidental information acquisition Broad scanning Broad scanning

I love searching! I get a kick out of finding information. It is like a treasure hunt, where you can find something you didn’t know existed. Woman, 24 yrs

Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) Intense enjoyment Intense enjoyment Full involvement in the task Full involvement in the task Energized focus Energized focus Forgetting time and place Forgetting time and place Balance between ability & challenge Balance between ability & challenge

Search flow enablers User-friendly search systems User-friendly search systems Task neither too easy nor too difficult Task neither too easy nor too difficult Curiosity, creativity & openness Curiosity, creativity & openness Motivation, interest Motivation, interest Explorative, flexible searching Explorative, flexible searching

Positive information experience Key to information literacy Key to information literacy Motivated persons learn more Motivated persons learn more Increased perceptiveness & creativity Increased perceptiveness & creativity Flexible & innovative thinking Flexible & innovative thinking

Three search styles Fast surfers – unmotivated, insecure, unconscientious, search problems Fast surfers – unmotivated, insecure, unconscientious, search problems Deep divers – conscientious, ambitious, structured, goal-oriented Deep divers – conscientious, ambitious, structured, goal-oriented Broad scanners – creative, curious, open, enjoy exploring information Broad scanners – creative, curious, open, enjoy exploring information

Implications for information literacy education I Involving topics motivate fast surfers Involving topics motivate fast surfers IL education integrated with curriculum IL education integrated with curriculum Encourage personal strengths & assist with individual challenges Encourage personal strengths & assist with individual challenges

Implications II Each search style has benefits dependent on search task & stage Each search style has benefits dependent on search task & stage Deep divers effective but may need to explore more Deep divers effective but may need to explore more Broad scanners creative but may need to focus more Broad scanners creative but may need to focus more

Optimal IL education Reminds of flow Reminds of flow Suitable difficulty Suitable difficulty Relevant Relevant Personal Personal Focused Focused Interests Interests Motivates Motivates Encourages Encourages Acknowledges individual strengths Acknowledges individual strengths

Conclusions Information seeking involves behavior, thoughts & feelings Information seeking involves behavior, thoughts & feelings Personality may influence how a student approach information seeking Personality may influence how a student approach information seeking Motivation essential Motivation essential Enjoying is being serious Enjoying is being serious

“The important thing is not so much that every student should be taught, as that every student should be given the wish to learn” John Lubbock

Thank you for your attention!