Making the most of strengths

Every second the information available to us grows, not the least on the internet. With it comes an increasing demand on the capacity to handle information. To keep up with this rapid growth and changing society, one is encouraged to become an information-literate lifelong learner. This requires constant adaption, open-mindedness and willingness to change. It may also call for discipline and effort, and will certainly be facilitated by a strong motivation. Information-literacy skills may be acquired, but the attitude, willingness and ability to adapt may come more naturally for some than for others. It is therefore plausible that certain persons have an inborn aptitude to handle the changing demands with less effort than others. Different personality traits may bring with them particular strengths and aptitudes for the information society. Some may benefit from their strengths in one particular context, and others will shine under other circumstances.

A tradition of positive psychology has in recent years developed and grown. The founders of this movement argue that it is just as important to investigate positive aspects of human life as it is to understand the negative ones (Seligman, 2002). Quality of life is not only enhanced by rectifying problems, but by preventing their occurrence in the first place. In order to do this we need a deeper understanding of attributes that enrich our lives. Similarly, it is time to explore positive aspects of information behavior (Kari and Hartel, 2007). The current information environment on the internet invites this constructive view. Although internet searching may be challenging at times, much of the time spent online has a positive connotation. We interact with friends, share experiences or investigate interests. Instead of only focusing on problems and challenges, taking the negative as the point of departure, we also need to explore aspects that are functional, positive and beneficial. One way to do this is to discover the particular individual strengths each person brings to information interaction.

The implicit message of information theories and models sometimes seems to be that information behavior is a rational, problem-solving process, where a gap in knowledge triggers a conscious search for information. Information acquisition is viewed as something purposeful and goal-directed, with an underlying assumption that people act on an information need. This applies to some situations, but in many cases the information-seeking process is dynamic and changeable. It is dependent on the context and to a large extent on the individual performing it (Solomon, 2002). Sometimes information is acquired incidentally (Erdelez, 1997), sometimes it is ignored and denied (Johnson, 1997), and occasionally it brings more damage than gain (Brashers et al., 2000). Some people may plan and structure their searches, while others gather information more flexibly and spontaneously (Heinström, 2006b). With a widening view of information behavior as something at times rational and planned, and occasionally spontaneous and creative, we also broaden our view on the person interacting with information.

The question of whether and how personality influences information interaction has been raised in many contexts over the years. The influence of individual differences has been explored under such diverse circumstances as new employees getting acquainted with job requirements (e.g. Vancouver and Morrison, 1995) and amount of background information needed in order to feel comfortable with a potential date (Henderson et al., 2006). Personality differences have also been studied in relation to health information seeking (Mayne, 1999), and on a micro level in knowledge construction and problem-solving (Kernan and Mojena, 1973). Some of these studies have tested multiple personality traits related to a general model of personality, such as the Myers-Briggs (Myers and McCauley, 1985), but the majority have focused on specific traits such as sensation seeking (Lu et al., 2006), perfectionism (Ishida, 2005), curiosity (Litman et al., 2005) or inclination to worry (Marcus et al., 2000). In this book the discussion of personality traits will be based on the five-factor model of personality (Costa and McCrae, 1992). Many of the studies which have explored the relation between personality and information seeking were done before this model was introduced. In many instances there has additionally been only one single study that has explored the influence of a particular personality trait on information behavior in a specific context. As a consequence the studies which are accounted for in this book are not directly comparable. On the other hand, through more fine-grained exploration of specific facets of personality we might understand mechanisms, connections and discrepancies in more depth (Hyldegârd, 2009). For instance, regarding the overarching trait of negative affectivity, its distinct facets of anxiety, depression and aggression have been shown to influence information behavior in different ways (see Chapter 7). In addition, a trait and its possible influence on personality never exist in isolation. Every time we interact with information a whole range of situational, contextual and individual factors influence our actions and reactions. By understanding how personality traits influence information interaction, we move one step forward towards a holistic understanding of information behavior.

The whole is more than the sum of the parts

The influence of a person’s personality on any kind of behavior, such as information interaction, forms through the combined and sometimes complementary impacts of various traits. Some traits may for instance work together and strengthen an effect, or conflicting inclinations may neutralize each other’s impact. A strong personality characteristic may at times dominate and override other tendencies. This is for instance the case when a foremost conservative but conscientious person overcomes his/her cautious inclination and makes the effort to explore new, challenging documents. The final impact of personality on information seeking is thus dependent on the unique combination of traits which distinguishes each individual. Our whole being is in this way more than the sum of the parts.

Personality disposition is far from deterministic and human reactions can never be foreseen with certainty. There is a constant interplay between traits and other mechanisms which makes human behavior interesting and far from predictable. Investigating various traits and their influence on information behavior can thus give us only a hint of a relationship. The final influence will always depend on the character as a whole in interaction with a myriad of other psychological, social and contextual factors. We thus need to be cautious in drawing too bold conclusions. On the other hand, we should not be afraid to see a connection where it does exist. Thus with both caution and anticipation in mind it is time to move on to explore what research has shown us regarding the influence of personality traits on information interaction.