The Correlation Analysis Between Need For Cognition And Users’Health Information Seeking Behavior

With the growing level of socio-economic development and people’s livingstandards, people’s demand for health information is also increasing, so is healthinformation seeking behavior. However, the level of health information seekingbehavior varies because of Information literacy, individual cognitive characteristics.So that most users can not find health information to make their own satisfaction. Thein-depth study of individual health information behavior and diversity has importantpractical significance quality which is benefit for improving health services to meetthe users’ specific information needs of health. The current information environmentis an interactive service style environment, the specific needs study of user cognitiveaspects during the interaction process is the user research trends.. However, thecurrent research is lack of depth study of influence of user’s cognitive factors toinformation seeking behavior; lack of exploring systematically the relationshipbetween cognitive psychology and user information behavior, and there is noempirical evidence about relationship between health information user’s cognitivecharacteristics and health information seeking behavior. Therefore, this study aims toexplore the relationship between the representative need for cognition of thecharacteristics and information seeking behavior，explore the value of applyingideology and theory in cognitive psychology to information behavior research,particularly in the user health information search behavior field. Through quantitativeevaluation methods, we further understand the effects of the user’s need forcognition on its health information seeking behavior to provide support foreffectively improving the health information service quality and customer satisfaction.Firstly, we adopted the questionnaire survey method to investigate184studentsfrom different majors using Need For Cognition Scale and Information SeekingBehavior Scale For Undergraduates.Scores were collected and analyzed usingstatistics method. The results showed Need For Cognition Scale scores and Information Seeking Behavior scores were significantly correlated, there into, thelevel of need for cognition and information evaluation, information retrieval,information management and information using dimensions of information seekingbehavior showed significantly related. the undergraduates’ need for cognition level isrelated with information seeking behavior.Based on this relevance, we discussed the health information seeking behavior asspecial and significant information behavior, is whether the inherent characteristicsthe user’s cognitive needs of their external behavior related to health informationsearch. From the perspective of cognitive development, health information seekingbehavior, as a special kind of information processing skills, is affected by user’s ownawareness of health information needs, distribution of attention resources, memoryand other factors in the process of interacting with information environment Andneed for cognition, as one of the user’s special cognitive characteristics, how to play arole in the process of dynamic interaction with health information. We adoptedlaboratory study, and20subjects participated in the experiment one by one using thesame computer which was connected to internet. Firstly, basic information form andneed for cognition scale are filled out. Then the same three health information searchtask were assigned to each subjects. Using screen video software to record theprocess of health information seeking behavior. We analyzed video to extract thecharacteristic factors of behavior using web page numbers, search words selectednumbers and Bilal trial measure. Data were analyzed using IBM spss software.Results showed that need for cognition level of health information users is positivelycorrelated with task time, forepart of time, posterior of time,the total number ofopening pages, number of selecting retrieval ways, and the scores of need forcognition were positively correlated with selection actions (SAs)、weighted selectionactions scores (SAs*WSA)、weighted effectiveness scores(WES)、weighted efficiencyscores(WEY)、quality moves (QWM). The results further revealed that need forcognition played an important role in the process of dynamic interaction withinformation environment while seeking health information. Last but not least, correlation between need for cognition and health information search behavior theorymodel was came up, and measures to improve the level of users’ health informationseeking behavior were proposed.