Psychology of Mindsets and Information Avoidance in Information Environments
This talk brings to light some considerations for information architects as they design information spaces for users. Specifically, at times information will appear based on display logic/user input as users navigate spaces. In some cases, the user may be asked if they would like additional information, which may contain self-relevant feedback (e.g., what is your credit score? What is your risk for developing breast cancer?). Dr. Novell’s research over the last 10 years has focused on how people navigate feedback environments in medical, academic, and sales settings, specifically investigating the factors that may influence a user’s receptivity to feedback. In this talk, Dr. Novell presents different research projects she has worked on, which examine the influence of both motivated factors (e.g., expected feedback valence and perceived fixedness of the feedback domain), as well as unmotivated factors (e.g., feedback default settings/choice architecture) on users’ navigation within feedback environments. Her research offers insights for information architects as they design information environments by providing a new lens on user information interaction behaviors.