Information and Emotion

Citation

Paul, J. (2008), "Information and Emotion", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 42 No. 4, pp. 457-461. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330810912160

Information and Emotion charts the theoretical basis and the empirical evidence for emotional quality of the information environment. In what one would consider the most significant direction in human interaction research, information behaviour (IB) researchers glean insights from a variety of studies that systematically scrutinise the affective domain in information seeking behaviour and use. The affective domain has been neglected in IB research and sometimes subsumed under human computer interaction, leaving a knowledge gap in our appreciation of human‐information interaction as distinct from systems interaction. This book attempts to bridge that gap and provide insights beyond the intellectual, cognitive approaches to emotions, values and meanings in information use. The book is segmented into four parts: the first examines the theoretical foundations of the role of emotions in information behaviour; the second looks into empirical studies at the macro‐emotional information level correlating with emotional stages; next, micro‐emotional information methodological level of analysis particularly issues related to reading, stay‐at‐home mothers, library anxiety, etc are examined; finally, special information environments particularly for the socially excluded communities are addressed in the last part.

The edited contributions offer a unique compilation of research findings on how design of user information systems can be informed by use and by users who directly or indirectly participate in the information process. The book excels in converging emotional aspects of information use with socio‐cultural issues, striking a tenuous balance between theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence thereby imparting a unique understanding of the affective domain. The peer‐reviewed volume of four parts, 17 chapters by 24 contributors, captures the multidimensionality of human interaction. It illustrates the relationship between emotions and search tasks, emotion and culture, relationship between constructivism, subconscious relational needs and information seeking behaviour and more. The introduction by Diane Nahl offers a succinct summary of each chapter, albeit a concluding chapter could have underlined the key ideas propagated in this highly evolved volume.

The authors adopt a theoretical approach in Part One to tackle a remarkable array of fundamental problems in dealing with the affective dimension, from the origins of apparent randomness in emotional responses, to the development of complexity in choice making, the ultimate scope and limitations of reasoning, the possibility of a truly fundamental theory of social‐biological interaction, the interplay between sense and sense‐making, and the character of “good enough” information seekers. The centrality of the affective dimension is well established by Diane Nahl who posits that all information needs seeking, reception and use, is processed through emotions. Affective states are biologically based and, therefore, require a unified theory. Adding to the evidence is the trajectory of affective revolution in information science theory, leading to the conclusion that “cognitive operations cannot occur independently but must be kept goal‐coherent by the affective operations”.

Dania Bilal examines more specifically the importance of constructing understanding in children, (intelligence, reasoning, personality, perception, madness, emotions, memory and language) which should evolve from a natural process to a psychological one. Elucidating child development theories of Erikson, Piaget and Vygotsky, she concludes that the affective information environment corresponding to different child development stages are important to strengthen higher mental functions. Brenda Dervin and CarrieLynn D. Reinhard publish the results of their exemplar study using sense‐making methodology. Presented with qualitative and statistical evidence, the authors draw a relationship between six situational assessment scales (reflecting dimensions of “emotions”) and six criteria measures of how users in different situations interpreted the information as useful, otherwise known as situated information seeking behaviour.

The final chapter in Part One examines the under‐researched notion of “enough” by Nicola Parker and Jennifer Berryman. The interpretative study reveals that users experienced “enough” in five qualitatively different ways and referred to six different types of enough. “Enough” can mean the right amount of essential elements that makes the task concrete and maintains a sense of control; as enabling optimal quality of content that yields good outcomes; as allowing qualitative engagement with a process of discovery and “working out” to succeed; an internalised qualitative sense of completeness and coverage to satisfy curiosity; and as creating the right atmosphere, appropriate feelings and a shift to ideals of creativity and differentiation in creating a product of value or ideal of perfection. The components of “enough” all include affective elements and the changing focus from one type of “enough” to another is telling of the generative and exploratory nature of “enough”. Written with exceptional clarity, and illustrated with charts, summary portraits and exhibits, the first four chapters can be a source of inspiration for graduate students and researchers alike to participate in what promises to be a major revolution in designing information systems.

Part Two addresses the macro‐emotional information environment. The authors adopt a consistent framework of research questions, a literature review, research methodology, findings and implications for librarians. Employing a user‐group approach to the understanding of the flow of emotions, the next five chapters explore affective aspects of socio‐emotional predispositions of high school students in information literacy programmes; critical care nurses' on‐duty information behaviour; children's response to recreational reading material in digital libraries when asked to review books for other children; undergraduate students' emotionally bound information needs and rogue users' behaviour in online communities. Each of the user case studies scrutinises the correlation between emotions and information use, drawing practical conclusions with examples, and providing a ready template for librarians to deploy policies that seriously consider the affective dimension. Beyond dry academic references and coming out of the general IB milieu, the authors in Part Two compare their ideas with others.

Part Three is the shortest of the four‐part edition, yet fully laden with a repertoire of innovative ideas. Lynne Mc Kechnie and Catherine Sheldrick Ross explore the idea of Books as Emotional Touchstones to gain a deeper understanding of the affective significance of reading. They conclude that reading constitutes a memorable event where textual worlds connect to emotional living beings as opposed to reading as a process of finding, interpreting and decoding. Helena M. Mentis' discourse on the “Memory of frustrating experiences” is an interesting piece. She deploys a user action framework (UAF) to four information phases. Frustrating experiences in the UAF phases are studied, concluding that for users, interruptions may be more important than efficiency. System responses should not interrupt the cognitive process or the experience in which the technology is being used, and steal control from the end‐user. The next chapter is an adventurous attempt by Karen E. Fisher and Carol F. Landry to use affect as a lens to interpret “stay‐at‐home” mothers' information behaviour. The authors identify “information grounds” where makeshift synergistic environments allow for congregation of singular purpose information seekers resulting in serendipitous sharing of information. Commonly referred to as an “everyday information world” study, Helena M. Mentis emboldens the emphasis on affect in context‐centered approaches as distinct from the user‐centered approach.

Nahyun Kwon adds to the wealth of ideas with empirical experimentation of the relationship between critical thinking and the library anxiety of college students. It was common belief that low critical thinking dispositions led to greater library anxiety. Both quantitative and qualitative investigations demonstrated a negative association between the two affects. Kwon argues for positive emotional environments, which are important for an affective information environment. Heidi Julien adds to this body of work with the study on the relationship between emotional self‐perceptions and information search behavior in public libraries. Heidi argues that self‐perceptions are grounded in emotions. Frustration and anxiety are natural barriers and propose the need for information counseling activities. Part Three offers information systems and service designers' insights into specific affective dimensions that can influence user behaviour.

Part Four examines how affective aspects like trust and interpersonal skills influence user access particularly for socially excluded and marginalised communities. Physical disabilities or demographic estrangement from the information culture can negatively impact upon information and help seeking behaviour. Susan Hayter, highlighting the impact of a “small world perspective” argues that individuals in such communities can lock themselves away from the information world if they are not affectively engaged by librarians. Woonseob Jeong compares the emotional behaviour of visually impaired individuals and makes a distinction between the totally blind and the partially sighted. Jeong concludes that completely blind users have a strong sense of independence, rudeness and indifference which requires a different approach towards them as compared to partially blind users. Bharat Mehra studies the relationship between affective dimensions and information seeking in a cross‐cultural context. Drawing an intersection between individual‐people‐culture‐environment factors, he traces eight stages of cross‐cultural learning phases in post‐doctoral international students. He argues the need for social infrastructures to nurture positive intercultural and global interaction in a globally integrated environment. Identifying and improving mechanisms and interventions that recognise the past cultural and academic experiences of international doctoral students will help them relate better to the new environment. He introduces the idea of “gatekeepers to “other” worlds” where active inter‐related interventions are necessary to build cultural bridges.

A detailed author and subject index, an exhaustive reference list together with contributors' profile make for a world‐class academic research publication. The volume however makes no mention of “emotioneering” employed in gaming and more animated information environments. The contributions in the section on “Special environments” does not explore “Alternative” worlds, particularly the evolving 4G worlds of Green, Gay, Girls and Grey. Also social media sites like facebook, shelfari, myspace, tagged and flickr have replaced traditional information environments with more affective elements. Web 2.0 and mobile information service implementation deserves a chapter in the compiled edition. Information and Emotion is likely to trigger fresh investigations, but will be quickly superseded by new research findings, reducing its shelf‐life significantly. The notion of the “affective” paradigm is oversold and under‐imagined in this compilation. Albeit, the edition offers practical suggestions for librarians and system designers who wish to build affective elements in their implementations. The volume offers a collection of ideas to emotionally ready (e‐ready) information environments and paves the way for an “affectiveness” index in measuring the impact of libraries and information services.