From function to fulfillment: A practical guide to information need models
Historically, media research has focused on what's known as "functional needs" – the practical information people need to navigate daily life.
This focus on the functional exists because these needs are often the most fundamental, dealing with essential things in life. And understanding how they are met - or not met - speaks to real, direct impact information can have on people’s lives.
Yet this approach misses a crucial piece of the puzzle: we're not just information consumers, we're complex human beings with a wide range of psychological and social needs that influence how we interact with information.
This narrow focus on the functional has roots in the early days of information behavior research, a field that emerged from studies of library use and scientific communication. Researchers initially focused on how people choose and use information sources to meet specific, often practical, goals. While this laid important groundwork, it also created a blind spot that persists today.
In this post, we'll share some key theories that reveal the complexity of human information behavior and challenge the media to move beyond the functional and embrace the whole person.
By reviewing models’ evolutions and their relevance to media, we'll explore how a more holistic approach to understanding information needs can lead to richer, more meaningful media experiences.
TL;DR: an overview of need models:
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Introduced in 1943, Abraham Maslow's theory provides a framework for understanding human motivation that has been widely applied across various disciplines, including information behavior research.
It is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels of needs, from basic physiological needs at the bottom to self-actualization at the top.
In the context of information behavior, researchers have drawn parallels between these levels of needs and different types of information needs and seeking behaviors:
Physiological and safety needs: At these levels, information seeking might focus on immediate, survival-related information such as where to find food, shelter, or medical care. In modern contexts, this could extend to information about job opportunities or housing.
Love and belonging: Information needs at this level might relate to finding social connections, understanding social norms, or accessing communication channels to maintain relationships.
Esteem: Information seeking at this level could involve looking for information to improve one's skills, understand one's rights, or gain recognition in a particular field.
Self-actualization: At the highest level, information needs might relate to personal growth, education, or creative pursuits.
The application of Maslow's hierarchy to information behavior has provided several valuable insights that enlighten the development of needs models later. First, Maslow proposed a hierarchy of motivational needs, some researchers have suggested that information needs may also follow a hierarchical structure. Basic, survival-related information needs may take precedence over higher-level needs for self-improvement or actualization.
Maslow's theory also highlights how different contexts or life circumstances might lead to different information needs and behaviors. For instance, individuals in precarious living situations might prioritize information related to basic needs, while those in stable environments might seek information for self-improvement or leisure.
Additionally, it provides a framework for understanding the underlying motivations for information seeking. It suggests that information behavior is not just about filling knowledge gaps, but about satisfying fundamental human needs. By linking information needs to a comprehensive theory of human motivation, Maslow's hierarchy encourages a more holistic view of information behavior that considers the full spectrum of human experiences and motivations.
However, the application of Maslow's hierarchy to information behavior is not without criticism. Some argue that information needs, like motivational needs, may not follow a strict hierarchy and can vary across cultures and individuals. Other critics suggest that mapping information needs directly onto Maslow's hierarchy may oversimplify the complex and often non-linear nature of information behavior.
Tom Wilson’s Information Model
Tom Wilson's model of information behavior moves from a system-centered approach to a user-centered one, and incorporates additional factors that can influence information behavior. His work has been particularly influential in providing a holistic framework for understanding how people interact with information.
Wilson’s initial model, published in 1981, focused on the origin of information needs and the barriers to information seeking. This model was groundbreaking in its time for three reasons:
It placed the information user at the center of the model, rather than the information system; it recognized that information-seeking behavior arises as a consequence of a need perceived by an information user; and it identified various barriers that might prevent an individual from seeking information, including personal, interpersonal, and environmental barriers.
The 1981 model also introduced the concept of "information exchange," recognizing that people often share information with others as part of their information behavior.
In 1996, Wilson revised his model, expanding on the concept of intervening variables and introducing activating mechanisms in information seeking. Key additions included intervening variables (psychological, demographic, role-related, interpersonal, and environmental factors that could either support or hinder information seeking), activating mechanisms (incorporating stress/coping theory, risk/reward theory, and social learning theory to explain what activates information-seeking behavior), and the addition of an information processing and use stage to complete the information behavior cycle.
Wilson's 1999 model further refined his concepts and introduced, again, new elements. It emphasized the context of information need, highlighting the importance of the situation in which the information need arises. The concept of activating mechanism was expanded to include passive attention, passive search, active search, and ongoing search. Information use was more explicitly incorporated into the model, recognizing that how information is used is an integral part of information behavior.
Through these models, Wilson introduced several important concepts to information behavior research. It provides a framework that identifies a variety of factors affecting information behavior and shows how these factors are interrelated. Wilson justified the choice of theoretical concepts through empirical research, providing a solid foundation for the model.
Some may argue that the later models are too complex for practical application in some research contexts. And despite attempts to show feedback loops, the models are sometimes criticized for presenting information behavior as a somewhat linear process. Other critics suggest that Wilson’s models primarily focus on individual information behavior, potentially underplaying the role of social and collaborative information practices.
Despite these critiques, Wilson's models remain foundational in the field of information behavior research. They provide a framework for understanding the complex interplay of factors that influence how people interact with information, from the emergence of an information need to the use of acquired information.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
First articulated by Herta Herzog in the 1940s and later refined by Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch in the 1970s, Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) shifts focus from how media affects people to how people actively use media to satisfy specific needs.
This user-centered perspective aligns closely with the evolution of information behavior research away from system-centered approaches.
The theory's core premise – that individuals actively select media and information sources to fulfill particular gratifications – provides a valuable framework for understanding motivation in information seeking. These gratifications typically fall into several categories:
cognitive (information acquisition),
affective (emotional satisfaction),
social integrative (strengthening connections),
personal integrative (reinforcing identity),
and tension release (escape and entertainment).
This categorization offers a nuanced way to understand why people seek different types of information and choose particular information channels.
The emphasis on active audience choice and need satisfaction has particular relevance for digital information behavior. The theory helps explain why people might choose different platforms for different information needs - for instance, using professional networking sites for career information while turning to social media for community news.
Like Maslow's hierarchy when applied to information behavior, UGT has faced criticism for potentially oversimplifying complex motivations and assuming too much rationality in user choices.
Media System Dependency Theory
Media System Dependency Theory (MSDT), developed by Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur in 1976, builds on UGT by examining how increasing reliance on media for need satisfaction leads to greater media influence in people's lives.
While UGT focuses on needs driving media consumption, MSDT explores how this consumption creates dependencies that shape information-seeking patterns.
MSDT proposes three main types of dependencies that people develop with media systems:
Understanding (of self and social environment)
Orientation (for behavior and interaction decisions)
Entertainment (for relaxation and emotional release)
These dependencies become stronger when:
Social change and conflict are high
Media serves many central information functions
Media access is relatively unrestricted
Alternative information sources are limited
An important distinction from UGT is that MSDT examines the structural relationships between media, audiences, and society, rather than just individual motivations.
The theory helps explain why people might maintain strong attachments to particular information sources or platforms even when those sources don't fully satisfy their needs. This attachment develops because the perceived costs of switching to alternative sources (in terms of time, effort, and uncertainty) outweigh the potential benefits.
The theory has become particularly relevant in the digital age, where social media platforms and other digital information sources can create powerful dependencies through their integration into daily life routines and social connections.
Social Cognitive Theory
Developed by Albert Bandura, social cognitive theory draws attention to the difference between what people hope to get from their media use (gratifications sought or GS) and what they actually obtain from it (gratifications obtained or GO).
The theory identifies several key aspects of this relationship:
First, there's the evaluation process. People actively assess whether their media experiences meet their expectations. For instance, someone might turn to social media hoping to feel more connected with friends (GS), but end up feeling more isolated instead (GO). This mismatch between expectations and reality influences future media choices.
Second, there's the learning component. Through repeated experiences with different media sources, people develop expectations about which sources will best meet their needs. When gratifications obtained consistently exceed those sought, people learn to trust and rely on those sources. This explains why people often develop strong loyalties to particular news websites, social media platforms, or information channels.
Third, there's the behavioral feedback loop. When people find a good match between their sought and obtained gratifications, they're more likely to:
Return to that information source in the future
Recommend it to others
Invest more time and effort in using it effectively
Develop more sophisticated strategies for extracting value from it
However, when obtained gratifications consistently fall short of what was sought, people typically:
Reduce their use of that source
Seek alternatives
Adjust their expectations
Develop more critical attitudes toward the source
Based on individuals’ gratification, people choose different information sources. This explains why people stick with seemingly inferior information sources that reliably meet specific needs and abandon highly rated sources that don't deliver on their personal expectations.
Another practical implication of this theory is explaining that eople develop complex patterns of media use, using different sources for different needs based on past experiences.
The framework also acknowledges that gratifications aren't static - they can evolve over time as people's needs change and as they become more sophisticated media users. Someone might initially use a platform just for basic information but gradually discover and appreciate its more complex features and capabilities.
Understanding this dynamic between sought and obtained gratifications helps researchers and designers create better information systems that not only attract users initially but continue to meet their evolving needs over time.
Cultivation Theory
Developed by George Gerbner in the 1960s, Cultivation Theory originally focused on how repeated exposure to television content shapes viewers' perceptions of social reality. Its principles have become increasingly relevant across all forms of media consumption.
When we combine this theory with Uses and Gratifications Theory, we can gain insights into how media choices and their effects create a feedback loop in information behavior.
Here's how these theories work together: Uses and Gratifications Theory tells us that people actively choose media to satisfy specific needs. Cultivation Theory then helps us understand how those choices, over time, shape how people see the world. This interaction creates what we might call a "perception-selection spiral."
Imagine someone who initially chooses to follow certain news sources because they align with their existing views (this is the UGT component - selecting media to gratify a need for validation).
Over time, consistent exposure to these sources gradually strengthens their original perspectives (this is the cultivation effect). This reinforced worldview then influences future media choices, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.
The combination of these theories helps explain several important phenomena in modern information behavior:
Echo chamber formation: People naturally gravitate toward information sources that confirm their existing beliefs (UGT), and prolonged exposure to these sources further solidifies these beliefs (cultivation), making them even more likely to seek similar sources in the future.
Selective exposure: In digital environments, where people have unprecedented control over their media diet, the cultivation effect can be particularly strong because users can easily avoid contradicting viewpoints and immerse themselves in preferred narratives.
Reality perception gaps: Different groups using different media sources may develop increasingly divergent views of reality, as each group's media choices cultivate distinct worldviews.
The digital age has intensified these effects in several ways: Algorithmic recommendations often amplify the cultivation effect by suggesting content similar to what users already consume. Social media platforms make it easier than ever to curate personal information environments. And the abundance of available sources allows people to find media that precisely matches their existing beliefs
Understanding this theoretical combination helps explain why simply providing access to diverse information sources isn't enough to broaden people's perspectives. The interplay between active media selection (UGT) and gradual belief cultivation suggests that information behavior is part of a complex system where choices and perceptions continuously influence each other.
Sanda Erdelez’s Unintentional Discovery
Sanda Erdelez's work since the 1990s has expanded our understanding of information behavior, particularly in the realm of unintentional information discovery. Erdelez coined the term "information encountering" to describe the serendipitous discovery of useful information while engaged in other activities or searches.
Her research has explored this phenomenon in various contexts, including digital environments, contributing to a broader view of information behavior that goes beyond intentional, goal-directed seeking.
Erdelez has investigated individual differences in information encountering propensity and developed models to explain the process. Her work has important implications for the design of information systems, suggesting ways to facilitate opportunistic information discovery.
How to use these frameworks to craft research that sees the whole person
The shift toward more holistic, contextual approaches reflects the field's growing understanding of the complexities of human information interactions.
Early research often took an atomistic view focused on specific information sources or tasks. Contemporary scholars recognize that information behaviors are deeply embedded in sociocultural contexts and shaped by many factors beyond immediate information needs.
Maslow's Hierarchy provided a crucial stepping stone by reminding us that information needs are intertwined with fundamental human needs, from basic survival to self-actualization. Wilson's models added further depth by emphasizing the importance of individual context and the dynamic interplay of psychological, social, and environmental factors.
Theories like Uses and Gratifications, Media System Dependency, and Social Cognitive Theory illuminated the active role we play in choosing and interacting with media, highlighting our diverse motivations and the potential for both positive and negative effects. Cultivation theory broadened the scope by showing how long-term media exposure can shape our perceptions of the world, for better or worse.
Review of previous theories helps us avoid the trap of viewing information needs and consumptions in isolation or in overly deterministic terms. Instead, we recognize that they are embedded in complex contexts of emotional, social, and cultural factors.
Therefore, we start with building sympathy with the community, learning about their values and identities. This approach helps develop more nuanced and effective research strategies that yield deeper insights into the information behaviors of any community.
In future posts, we will elaborate on how this holistic perspective informs our specific research methods and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the information needs and flows within the community.
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