Cognitive Models of Human–Information Interaction

Abstract

Human–information interaction (HII) is an emerging branch of human–computer interaction (HCI) which is concerned with how people interact with and process outwardly accessible information such as the World Wide Web. However, HII adopts an information-centric approach rather than the computer-centric approach to the fi eld of human– computer interaction (Lucas 2000). Like HCI, HII is an application fi eld that provides a complex test bed for theories of cognitive architecture. In turn, such theories provide the basis for cognitive engineering models that can yield predictions about technology and information design. This chapter provides an overview of cognitive architectures and cognitive engineering models in the context of human–information interaction. The evolution of HCI toward the information-centric fi eld of HII has occurred because of the increasing pervasiveness of information services, the increasing transparency of user interfaces, the convergence of information delivery technologies, and the trend toward ubiquitous computing (Lucas 2000). Access to the Internet is pervasive through land lines, satellite, cable, mobile devices, and wireless services. The fi eld of HCI over the past two decades and more has led to the development of computers and computer applications that are increasingly transparent to users performing their tasks. In parallel, the business world around consumer media technologies shows excitement over the convergence of television, cell phones, PCs (personal computers), PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), cars, set-tops, digital music players, and other consumer electronic devices, as well as the convergence among the means for transporting information, such as the Internet, radio, satellite, cable, and so on. Research on ubiquitous computing looks forward to a world in which computational devices are basically everywhere in our homes, mobile devices, cars, and so on, and these devices can be marshaled to perform arbitrary tasks for users. The net effect of these trends is to make computers invisible, just as electricity