A proposed general model of information behaviour.
Intervening variables
Wilson, drawing upon research from various fields (psychology, sociology, decision-making, etc.), points out numerous significant determinants of information behaviour. Like the factors influencing the occurrence of information need, they can be of a personal, role-related or of environmental nature.
Among the psychological variables are outlook on life and system of values, political orientation, knowledge, style of learning, emotional variables, attitude towards innovation, stereotypes, preferences, prejudices, self-perception (self-evaluation of knowledge and skills), interests, and knowledge of the subject, task, information or search system. Demographic variables include sex, age, social and economic status, education and job experience, etc. In his model Wilson separates psychological and demographic variables.
The role a person plays (usually there are several, including professional role) situates an individual in a particular place in a social system and in an organization. It means also a defined place in formal and informal communication networks. This creates certain opportunities and barriers in access to information. Role-related or interpersonal variables encompass job character, requirements, regulations and limitations; standards and patterns of behaviour established (in a particular professional category); the place a person occupies in organization or whole system of organizations; a typical hierarchy of values; and level of responsibility. Environmental variables, which can be analysed on a country, local or organizational levels, include legislation, economical situation, level of stabilization, organizational structure of a sector (dependency and competencies), information culture (traditional vs. innovative; individual vs. collective; level of acceptance of inequalities in access to information), IT technology, localization of information sources, type of organization, organizational culture. Wilson separates from environmental factors source characteristics, such as currency of information, appropriateness, and reliability.
The author of the model notes that it is the value of an intervening variable that determines whether it supports or hinders information behaviour. For example, a low level of knowledge about existing information resources is a barrier, whereas a high level supports information behaviour.
The mechanisms that activate information behaviour
Between what he calls ‘person-in-context’ and the decision to seek information, Wilson inserts a concept of activating mechanism. He notes, rightly, that not every need gives an incentive to undertake activities leading to seeking information. To find out what stimulates and motivates information seeking Wilson looks for an answer mainly in psychology, but points out the necessity to draw also from other sciences. One of the activating mechanisms, according to the author, can be explained by a stress/coping theory. According to this theory, Wilson suggests, not all information needs make a person seek information. For example, an individual does not engage in seeking activities if he or she is convinced that the possessed knowledge is sufficient to understand the situation and make a decision. If s/he lacks such conviction, the stress connected with danger of making a mistake, trespassing social or legal norms, financial responsibility or not answering expectations of other people, occurs. The bigger the stress the bigger is the motivation to look for information, up to a certain point where the stress paralyses such activities. Another activating factor is a necessity to cope with a situation or to solve a problem. Wanting a reward can induce this feeling of necessity, even if the reward means only the comfort coming from eliminating the feeling of uncertainty. The risk/reward theory explains why, in some situations, people seek information in some not, and why certain information sources are more frequently used then other. Generally speaking it depends on the amount and nature of perceived risk resulting from giving up information seeking. It can be risk of unnecessary expenditure, time loss, etc. An important stimulator of information behaviour is also the perception of self-efficacy, explained in depth by social learning theory. The expectation of efficacy is the estimation whether a person can successfully execute the behaviour. It affects strongly decisions to undertake necessary activities, and determines whether a person even try to cope with the situation.
Phase of acquiring of information
Among the modes of obtaining information Wilson differentiates passive attention, passive search, active search and ongoing search. First mode means passive absorption of information from the environment, for example, when the TV or radio is on, without person’s intention to seek information. It is not purposeful information behaviour, although it is an important way of assimilating information. The second mode applies to those occasions when a particular type of behaviour results in acquisition of information that happens to be relevant to the individual. The third, active search, takes place when a person actively seeks out information. The fourth, an ongoing search, means continuing search carried out to update or expand area of information.
Phase of information processing and use
Information obtained by a user is then processed, becomes an item of person’s knowledge, and is used, directly or indirectly, to influence the environment and, as a consequence, create new information needs. Mental and physical information activities form a cyclic process, in which individual elements of the context determine a person’s behaviour at all stages, and where information obtained becomes a new element in a dynamic system.
Critical remarks
The following critical remarks refer to the content and graphical presentation of Wilson’s revised model of information behaviour. They are the result of conceptual analysis, stimulated by the practical need to categorize factors and mechanisms that ought to be taken into consideration while investigating the information behaviour of a specific category of users (in this case, managers). It has to be stressed that, in accordance with how its author sees it, the model served as ‘a framework for thinking about the problem’, and a ‘a map of the area’ (Wilson, 1999). The model was used as such, and the suggested relationships among theoretical propositions were not tested. The concrete research task, the development of a set of concrete questions to be asked and necessity to choose important data regarding users environment, induced, however, a deep analysis of a model. Such a practical application of a theoretical model to a specific research need seems to be a next step towards the development of a model of relationships, and a test of its adherence to reality. During the research process it occurred that generally Wilson’s model gives a good frame for thinking about the process of information acquiring, but some improvements can be made to make it more clear and consistent. The controversial issues are as follows:The author in his comments on the model, clearly differentiates the phase of the occurrence of information need from the phase when a decision to seek information is undertaken. The diagram does not reflect this partition, although it seems to be important, since as it was said, not every need leads to information seeking, and the decision has to be induced by a certain stimulus, different from the need itself.
Wilson graphically separates ‘the context’ from the intervening variables, which influence information behaviour. Is there such necessity? These variables, after all, form the context of information behaviour. They are of different nature: environmental (external from the person), role-related (they cross the border, are external by being induced by social environment, but are also interiorised by a person) and personal (inseparable from the person, it can be said that characteristic features of a person him/her-self are also the context of information need). It is a matter of definition, of course, whether, by context, only the external variables or also the role-related and strictly personal variables are to be understood.
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