Semiotics and Information Psychology

Abstract

In both information science (e.g. learning, networks and interface design) and management science (e.g. knowledge creation and knowledge management) psychology and semiotics are almost absent. In this paper we take this observation as a starting point. From a psychological perspective we will discuss what is missing in the sciences of management and information, and, as a consequence, how this absence could be explained. Then, we do the same from a semiotic perspective. The paper consists of five parts. First, we discuss the absence of psychology in management science and information science. Second, we discuss a starting point in psychology. Third, we go into the details of two important trends in present-day management and information science, that is, (a) knowledge management and knowledge creation and (b) the learning organization. Fourth, we describe our starting points in semiotics, especially in relation to (external) representations and semiosis. Finally, we will argue in favor of a supplementary psychological field: semio-psychology or information psychology.