Cognitive Shifts

Studies on cognitive shifts are found in a variety of fields of psychology, cognitive science, human factors, and human–computer interaction research (Allport, Styles

& Hsieh, 1994; Ashby, Isen & Turken, 1999; Diaper & Stanton, 2003; Iani &

Wickens, 2004). Cognitive shifts are a type of psychological phenomenon experienced by individuals. Simon (1981) argued that a cognitive shift, the unique ability of humans, belongs to higher human cognitive processes. Cognitive shift is a human ability to handle the demands of complex and often multiple tasks resulting from changes due to external forces (Spink & Dee, 2007).

2.6.1 Cognitive Shifts in Interactive IR

The phenomenon of cognitive shift is an important element of human interaction with IR systems. Spink and Dee’s (2007) study concludes that if an IR system user does not experience some type of shift in information problem processing, represented by shifts in cognitive, problem and knowledge states, then the IR system interaction has not been effective.

Various forms of cognitive shifts that take place during information seeking and retrieving processes have been identified and modelled. The information problem stage (Spink, 2002; Spink, Wilson, Ford, Foster & Ellis, 2002b) and information seeking stage (Kuhlthau, 1993) were identified as two types of cognitive shifts at information seeking level. Researchers examined shifts in search strategies (Xie, 2000), information problem (Robins, 2000), search stages (Santon, 2003), uncertainty (Ingwersen, 1996; Wilson, Ford, Ellis, Foster & Spink, 2002), and query reformulation (Rieh & Xie, 2006) as types of cognitive shifts during the interactive IR process.

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Saracevic’s (1996) stratified model of IR interaction provided a theoretical explication of the possible levels and shifts between those levels within an IR interaction. Xie (2000) used an information-seeking strategy to describe users’

shifts from one state to another in their attempts to achieve their seeking goals. Results showed that there exist two dimensions of information-seeking strategies: methods and resources; and three levels of shifts: (1) current search goal shifts, (2) interactive intention shifts, and (3) information-seeking strategy shifts.

Robins’ (2000) interaction shifts were defined as any change in focus of the conversation between a user and a search intermediary with respect to the users’

information problem. Shifting of focus was denoted by a change in some topical aspect of the conversation, or by some shift to a non-topical aspect of the information problem. Ten categories of focus were classified for the analysis of information problem focus shifts: DOC (focus on documents availability and format, etc), EVAL (focus on judgments of system output), I (indiscernible passage), SNSR (focus on the discussion of social issues not related to the search), ST (focus on the discussion related to the experimental itself), STRAT (concerned with the search strategies), SYS (focus on explanations, preparations, or problems with the IR system), TECH (focus on the discussion of technical issues), TOPIC (focus on the subject area guiding the search), and USER (focus on users’ background including searching experience). The shifts within those foci occurred during the discourse between a user and a search intermediary within IR interactions. Spink (2002) assessed and operationalised the users’ information problem shift by measuring the change in an information-seeker’s information problem stage before and after their interaction with an IR system.

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Santon (2003) investigated users’ moves/shifts between different cognitive search stages in an iterative information retrieval process. Search stages included search intension, prior experience, database selection, query formulation, results reviewing, search progress reviewing, physical delivery of results, technical related problems, and so on. Although some of the stages are represented as physical actions, they reflect the users’ evolving cognitive and strategic states.

2.6.2 Variables Affecting Cognitive Shifts

Quite a few information seeking and retrieving studies have included individual differences as variables affecting shifts on users’ cognition. User-based variables include cognitive styles, internet perceptions, study approaches, levels of prior experience, personality traits, and demographic variables (Ford, Miller & Moss, 2001; Heinström, 2003; Palmquist & Kim, 2000; Wang, Hawk & Tenopir, 2000).

In the 1980s, Dervin and Nilan (1986) argued that information was a subjective construct. An individual's need for information shaped what that person saw in the environment and what information that person would construct from the environment, rather than by the objective nature of the information being sought.

Miyata and Norman (1986) stated that there existed two styles of human information processing, task-driven processing and interrupt-driven processing.

Individual differences played a role in deciding whether a person was in a state of task or had interrupted driven processing. They found that some people were more easily controlled by task-driven structures, while others tended to be distractible by extraneous events or thoughts.

Recent studies have shown that different individuals seek and process information using very different strategies which may be more or less effective for different people in different contexts. Individuals may, to some extent, be characterised by

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cognitive styles which are a consistent tendency to adopt one or other type of information processing strategy (Ford, Miller & Moss, 2001).

Wang, Hawk and Tenopir (2000) investigated how users search for factual information on the web with a focus on individual differences. Their results suggested that (1) differences in cognitive styles affected the search process; (2) field-dependent individuals probably had greater difficulty in the web environment and became confused more easily than field-independent individuals. Palmquist and Kim’s (2000) study shows that there was a relationship between cognitive style and experience on Web searching. Field-dependent novice searchers took longer and traversed more nodes in locating relevant information than field-independent novices.

Ford, Miller and Moss (2001) investigated the role of individual differences in Internet searching, modelling the relationships between individual difference factors and retrieval effectiveness of internet-based information seeking. Results showed that the interaction between self-efficacy, gender, and cognitive styles may be an important factor in models of human–computer interaction. Ford, Wilson, Foster, Ellis and Spink’s (2002) study reported on the relationship between cognitive styles and problem solving and associated information-seeking. They concluded that field-independent researchers were more analytical and active than their field-dependent counterparts. Furthermore, holists engaged more in exploratory and serendipitous behaviour, and were more idiosyncratic in their communication than serialists.

Heinström (2003) studied individual differences in information behaviour, with a particular focus on how and why personality traits influenced information strategies.

It was claimed that each individual had a unique way of seeking information. Spink and Dee’s (2007) research showed that (1) all study participants reported some level of cognitive shifts in their information problem, information seeking, and

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personal knowledge due to their search interaction; and (2) different study participants reported different levels of shifts on various criteria.

Different people deal with information problems using different information processing styles and cognitive styles. Cognitive styles play a role in creating knowledge with an influence on information behaviour (Ford, Wilson, Foster, Ellis &

Spink, 2002). The process of cognitive shifts varies depending on individuals’

cognitive styles. Different people inherently have different cognitive styles that decide different patterns of their cognitive shifts and the undergoing of different cognitive states (Ingwersen, 1996). However, in addition to the inbuilt cognitive styles, cognitive shifts may be influenced by users’ active Web search interactions.

We plan in the present study to explore the impact of dynamic searching process on users’ cognitive shifts.

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