Emotional design: The influential role of affect in information behavior (SIG USE)

Abstract

“Emotion is a necessary part of life, affecting how we feel, how we behave and think.” (Norman, 2004). A majority of human information behavior studies have focused on cognitive aspects of information seeking and use, such as search strategy or moves, search term selection, search errors, relevance judgments, and successive searching, among others. Some studies have taken a holistic approach, integrating cognitive, affective and sensorimotor information behavior in context, such as information encountering (Erdelez), information behavior in everyday contexts (Fisher&Durrance), emotional metadata of children (Druin), emotion and children's information seeking on the Web (Bilal), information search process (Kuhlthau), sense-making (Dervin), personal information management (Jones&Bruce) and affective load in searching (Nahl). Affective information behavior drives information thoughts and actions through varying degrees of a person's interest, motivation, feelings, and persistence, among other affective variables. The panelists present analyses from their research of affective information behavior that illustrate its determining effect on thinking and action. A focus on integrated affective information behavior should enable better design of information systems and services.