Browsing and the hypermedia interaction cycle: A model of self-efficacy and goal dynamics

Journalism and Mass Communication Quaterly

Volumn 75, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 35-54

  Fredin, Eric S ^a   David, Prabu ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0007968697     PISSN: 10776990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/107769909807500107     Document Type: Article

References (79)

1. Heeter proposes that interactivity in new communication technology is defined along five dimensions. Three of these dimensions - complexity of choice, required user effort, and responsiveness to the user - are incorporated in our working definition. The other two, the monitoring of usage and the ease of adding information to the system by the user, are not particularly relevant to the browsing task used in this paper. Carrie Heeter, "Implications of New Interactive Technologies for Conceptualizing Communication," in Media Use in the Information Age: Emerging Patterns of Adoption and Consumer Use, ed. Jerry L. Salvaggio and Jennings Bryant (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1989), 217-35.
2. The idea of later choices depending upon earlier ones is seen by Raphaeli as the key property of interactivity, but he argues that these relations among choices should be contributed to equally by both parties involved. The choices offered by the hypermedia program are rarely contingent upon the choices a particular user has made, and, if they are, the contingency is usually quite simple. However, we would argue that the hypermedia does provide an environment in which contingent choices often must be made, and that this is a kind of interaction experience for users. Sheizaf Raphaeli, "Interactivity: From New Media to Communication," in Sage Annual Reviews of Communication: Advancing Communication Science: Merging Mass and Interpersonal Processes, ed. Robert P. Hawkins, John M. Wiemann, and Suzanne Pingree (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988), 110-34.
3. See, for example, Jeff Conklin, "Hypertext: An Introduction and Survey," Computer 20 (September 1987): 17-41.
4. M. K. Flynn, "Taming the Internet: It's Full of Surprises," U.S. News and World Report, 29 April, 1996, 60-61, 64.
5. Shan-Ju Chang and Ronald. E. Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework," Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (1993): 231-76.
6. Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework," 233.
7. Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework." Also see, for example, Nicholas J. Belkin, P.G. Marchetti, and Colleen Cool, "BRAQUE: Design of an Interface to Support User Interaction in Information Retrieval," Information Processing and Management 29 (May/June 1993): 325-44.
8. Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework." Also see, for example, Nicholas J. Belkin, P.G. Marchetti, and Colleen Cool, "BRAQUE: Design of an Interface to Support User Interaction in Information Retrieval," Information Processing and Management 29 (May/June 1993): 325-44.
9. For example, empirical work has found that about one-third of the books obtained from shelves of academic libraries are not specifically sought; Gary S. Lawrence and Anne R. Oja, "The Use of General Collection at the University of California: A Study of Unrecorded Use, at the Shelf Discovery and Immediacy of Need for Materials at the Davis and Santa Cruz Campus Libraries," Research Report RR-80-1 (Berkeley: U. of Cal., 1980), quoted in Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework."
10. For example, empirical work has found that about one-third of the books obtained from shelves of academic libraries are not specifically sought; Gary S. Lawrence and Anne R. Oja, "The Use of General Collection at the University of California: A Study of Unrecorded Use, at the Shelf Discovery and Immediacy of Need for Materials at the Davis and Santa Cruz Campus Libraries," Research Report RR-80-1 (Berkeley: U. of Cal., 1980), quoted in Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework."
11. Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework," 237.
12. Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework."
13. Albert Bandura, Social Cognition Theory (NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977); Albert Bandura, "Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory," American Psychologist 44 (September 1989): 1175-1184.
14. Albert Bandura, Social Cognition Theory (NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977); Albert Bandura, "Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory," American Psychologist 44 (September 1989): 1175-1184.
15. Albert Bandura, "Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency," American Psychologist 37 (February 1982): 122-47.
16. Albert Bandura and D.H. Schunk, "Cultivating Competence, Self-Efficacy, and Intrinsic Interest through Proximal Self-Motivation," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 41 (September 1981): 586-598.
17. Bandura sees the affective evaluations of outcomes - evaluations of whether goals are reached - as the direct motivators, not self-efficacy. See, for example, Bandura, "Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency."
18. See, for example, John E. Newhagen, "Self-Efficacy and Call-in Political Television Show Use," Communication Research 21 (June 1994): 366-79.
19. "One can derive degree of generality [of self-efficacy] from multidomain scales, but one cannot extract the patterning of perceived personal efficacy from a conglomerate omnibus test," in Albert Bandura, "Regulation of Cognitive Processes Through Perceived Self-Efficacy," Developmental Psychology 25 (September 1989): 729-35, p. 732. See also Bandura, "Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency"; Albert Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50 (December 1991): 248-87.
20. "One can derive degree of generality [of self-efficacy] from multidomain scales, but one cannot extract the patterning of perceived personal efficacy from a conglomerate omnibus test," in Albert Bandura, "Regulation of Cognitive Processes Through Perceived Self-Efficacy," Developmental Psychology 25 (September 1989): 729-35, p. 732. See also Bandura, "Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency"; Albert Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50 (December 1991): 248-87.
21. "One can derive degree of generality [of self-efficacy] from multidomain scales, but one cannot extract the patterning of perceived personal efficacy from a conglomerate omnibus test," in Albert Bandura, "Regulation of Cognitive Processes Through Perceived Self-Efficacy," Developmental Psychology 25 (September 1989): 729-35, p. 732. See also Bandura, "Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency"; Albert Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50 (December 1991): 248-87.
22. For a discussion of how self-efficacy is an important consideration in the design of news stories for hypermedia, see Eric S. Fredin, Rethinking the News Story for the Internet: Hyperstory Prototypes and a Model of the User, Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs, no. 163 (Columbia, SC: AEJMC, 1997).
23. Thomas W. Malone, "Toward A Theory Of Intrinsically Motivating Instruction," Cognitive Science 4 (October-December 1981): 333-69.
24. E.g., Chang and Rice, "Browsing: A Multidimensional Framework."
25. Jerome Bruner, Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1986).
26. Asghar Iran-Nejad, "Cognitive and Affective Causes of Interest and Liking," Journal of Educational Psychology 79 (June 1987): 120-30.
27. Reid Hastie, "Causes and Effects of Causal Attribution," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46 (January 1984): 44-56.
28. Ziva Kunda, Dale T. Miller, and Theresa Claire, "Combining Social Concepts: The Role of Causal Reasoning," Cognitive Science 14 (October-December 1990): 551-77.
29. On the relation of surprise and news stories, see Fredin, "Rethinking the News Story for the Internet."
30. Annie Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?," in Measuring Psychological Responses to Media Messages, ed. Annie Lang (Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum, 1994), 99-111. An orienting response has been describe generally as the "what is it?" response (Richard Lynn, Attention, Arousal and the Orientation Reaction [New York: Pergamon, 1966], cited in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell us about Thinking?"). It occurs in response to stimuli that are "novel, learned, intense, complex, and/or surprising" (Lang, 101).
31. Annie Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?," in Measuring Psychological Responses to Media Messages, ed. Annie Lang (Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum, 1994), 99-111. An orienting response has been describe generally as the "what is it?" response (Richard Lynn, Attention, Arousal and the Orientation Reaction [New York: Pergamon, 1966], cited in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell us about Thinking?"). It occurs in response to stimuli that are "novel, learned, intense, complex, and/or surprising" (Lang, 101).
32. Annie Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?," in Measuring Psychological Responses to Media Messages, ed. Annie Lang (Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum, 1994), 99-111. An orienting response has been describe generally as the "what is it?" response (Richard Lynn, Attention, Arousal and the Orientation Reaction [New York: Pergamon, 1966], cited in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell us about Thinking?"). It occurs in response to stimuli that are "novel, learned, intense, complex, and/or surprising" (Lang, 101).
33. Mark K. Greenwald, Edwin W. Cook, and Peter J. Lang, "Affective Judgment and Psychophysiological Response: Dimensional Covariation in the Evaluation of Pictorial Stimuli," Journal of Psychophysiology 3 (1, 1987) quoted in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?" Arousal can be seen as varying along a continuum ranging from calm to excited. See, for example, Annie Lang, "Involuntary Attention and Physiological Arousal Evoked by Structural features and Mild Emotion in TV Commercials," Communication Research 17 (June 1990): 275-99; and Esther Thorson and Annie Lang, "The Effects of Television Videographics and Lecture Familiarity on Adult Cardiac Orienting Responses and Memory," Communication Research 19 (June 1992): 346-69.
34. Mark K. Greenwald, Edwin W. Cook, and Peter J. Lang, "Affective Judgment and Psychophysiological Response: Dimensional Covariation in the Evaluation of Pictorial Stimuli," Journal of Psychophysiology 3 (1, 1987) quoted in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?" Arousal can be seen as varying along a continuum ranging from calm to excited. See, for example, Annie Lang, "Involuntary Attention and Physiological Arousal Evoked by Structural features and Mild Emotion in TV Commercials," Communication Research 17 (June 1990): 275-99; and Esther Thorson and Annie Lang, "The Effects of Television Videographics and Lecture Familiarity on Adult Cardiac Orienting Responses and Memory," Communication Research 19 (June 1992): 346-69.
35. Mark K. Greenwald, Edwin W. Cook, and Peter J. Lang, "Affective Judgment and Psychophysiological Response: Dimensional Covariation in the Evaluation of Pictorial Stimuli," Journal of Psychophysiology 3 (1, 1987) quoted in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?" Arousal can be seen as varying along a continuum ranging from calm to excited. See, for example, Annie Lang, "Involuntary Attention and Physiological Arousal Evoked by Structural features and Mild Emotion in TV Commercials," Communication Research 17 (June 1990): 275-99; and Esther Thorson and Annie Lang, "The Effects of Television Videographics and Lecture Familiarity on Adult Cardiac Orienting Responses and Memory," Communication Research 19 (June 1992): 346-69.
36. Mark K. Greenwald, Edwin W. Cook, and Peter J. Lang, "Affective Judgment and Psychophysiological Response: Dimensional Covariation in the Evaluation of Pictorial Stimuli," Journal of Psychophysiology 3 (1, 1987) quoted in Lang, "What Can the Heart Tell Us about Thinking?" Arousal can be seen as varying along a continuum ranging from calm to excited. See, for example, Annie Lang, "Involuntary Attention and Physiological Arousal Evoked by Structural features and Mild Emotion in TV Commercials," Communication Research 17 (June 1990): 275-99; and Esther Thorson and Annie Lang, "The Effects of Television Videographics and Lecture Familiarity on Adult Cardiac Orienting Responses and Memory," Communication Research 19 (June 1992): 346-69.
37. We also see surprise as different from novelty. Both are reactions to the unexpected. However, novelty does not have the sense of being connected to earlier expectations; rather, it is associated mainly with a new kind of experience, such as trying a new communication medium. Novelty is often seen as being superficial in the sense that once the excitement of the novelty wears off, people may be far less interested and revert to their usual habits and actions. This is the concern with "novelty effects" in studies of the uses and effects of new communication systems.
38. Bandura and Schunk, "Cultivating Competence;" and Albert Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory Of Self-Regulation."
39. Bandura and Schunk, "Cultivating Competence;" and Albert Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory Of Self-Regulation."
40. Bandura and Schunk, "Cultivating Competence."
41. For intrinsic goals and learning, see: Thomas W. Malone and Mark R. Lepper, "Making Learning Fun: A Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivations for Learning," in Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: III. Conative and Affective Process Analyses, ed. Richard E. Snow and Marshall J. Farr (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1987), 223-53; Gail D. Heyman and Carol S. Dweck, "Achievement Goals and Intrinsic Motivation: Their Relation and Their Role in Adaptive Motivation," Motivation and Emotion 16 (September 1992): 231-47.
42. For intrinsic goals and learning, see: Thomas W. Malone and Mark R. Lepper, "Making Learning Fun: A Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivations for Learning," in Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: III. Conative and Affective Process Analyses, ed. Richard E. Snow and Marshall J. Farr (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1987), 223-53; Gail D. Heyman and Carol S. Dweck, "Achievement Goals and Intrinsic Motivation: Their Relation and Their Role in Adaptive Motivation," Motivation and Emotion 16 (September 1992): 231-47.
43. The relationship is not necessarily linear in that many such failures may be required before self-efficacy becomes weakened. See Albert Bandura and Daniel Cervone, "Differential Engagement of Self-Reactive Influences in Cognitive Motivation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 38 (August 1986): 92-113; Bandura and Schunk, "Cultivating Competence."
44. The relationship is not necessarily linear in that many such failures may be required before self-efficacy becomes weakened. See Albert Bandura and Daniel Cervone, "Differential Engagement of Self-Reactive Influences in Cognitive Motivation," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 38 (August 1986): 92-113; Bandura and Schunk, "Cultivating Competence."
45. Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
46. Bandura, "Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory," and Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
47. Bandura, "Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory," and Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
48. See also, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Judith LeFevre, "Optimal Experience in Work and Leisure," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 104 (May 1987): 268-94.
49. Bandura, "Human Agency," and Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
50. Bandura, "Human Agency," and Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
51. Bookmarking is a simple Netscape command that allows the user to mark a particular site so that it can be easily visited later.
52. John December, "Unit of Analysis for Internet Communication," Journal of Communication 46 (winter 1996): 14-50.
53. Kathy A. Krendl and Eric S. Fredin, "The Effects of Instructional Characteristics: An Examination of Two Communication Systems," Journal of Educational Technology Systems 14 (1, 1985-1986): 75-86.
54. For example, see R.G. McLeod, "Even the Internet was Shaken Up," The New York Times, 18 January 1995, sec. A, p. 21; E. Terry, "For Kobe Quake News, Internet Outstrips TV," Christian Science Monitor, 15 February 1995, sec. A, p. 14.
55. For example, see R.G. McLeod, "Even the Internet was Shaken Up," The New York Times, 18 January 1995, sec. A, p. 21; E. Terry, "For Kobe Quake News, Internet Outstrips TV," Christian Science Monitor, 15 February 1995, sec. A, p. 14.
56. D. Pacheco, "Bombing Aftershock Goes On-line," The Denver Post, 25 April 1995, sec. C, p. 1.
57. The purpose of the open-ended questions in the preparation and consolidation phases was to obtain qualitative elaboration on closed-ended ratings. The data from the open-ended responses were examined but not tabulated because the responses were too dispersed, in part because of the small sample and the large content space.
58. The questions in the preparation phase questionnaire were phrased as follows: Where would you place yourself at this point in your search on a 10-point scale, where 1 is "exploring," 5 is "following particular story ideas," and 10 is "looking for details for specific story ideas?" At this point in your search, how broad (10 = very broad) or narrow (1 = very narrow) are the ideas you are working on? How confident are you that you can find interesting stories on the Web (1 = not at all confident) and (10 = very confident)?
59. The questions in the consolidation phase questionnaire were phrased as follows: How successful were you in finding something good for a story idea (1 = not at all successful) and (10 = very successful)? Overall, how much do you like what you found here, in terms of material for story ideas (1 = dislike very much) and (10 = like very much)? How surprised were you by the material you found, that is, the text, graphics, and/or pictures (1 = not at all surprised) and (10 = very surprised)? How confident are you that you can find other interesting stories on the Web (1 = not at all confident) and (10 = very confident)? Asking about an action in terms of confidence is a widely used way of operationalizing self-efficacy. For example, see Peggy A. Ertmer, Elizabeth Evenbeck, Katherine S. Cennamo, and James D. Lehman, "Enhancing Self-Efficacy for Computer Technology Through Use of Positive Classroom Experiences," Educational Technology Research and Development 43 (3, 1994): 45-62.
60. There were five equations. All coefficients are standardized.
61. For each of the five equations, the autocorrelation in the error term was examined and the Durbin-Watson test performed. The values of the Durbin-Watson were 1.3, 2.1, 1.7, 1.9, 1.3, for each of the five regression equations, where a value of 2 indicates that there is no evidence of autocorrelation and a value between 1 and 2 indicates that it is indeterminate. We realize that the Durbin-Watson is only a diagnostic statistic to rule out autocorrelation and not a conclusive test. Ideally, time series techniques are preferable when data are autocorrelated. However, given the limited degrees of freedom and our goal to develop a saturated path model, the fitting of five elaborate transfer function models did not seem like a viable option.
62. The structure of the hypermedia environment might be improved through additional cross-links among pages, but hierarchical organizations, for all their power, may have limited use. One reason is that goals are not few and clear for many users, hence any hierarchical organization probably will not fit many goals users have, though many hierarchical organizations can be placed on one dataset. A second reason is that moving up and down a hierarchy translates into selecting a sub-menu from a main menu, a sub-sub menu from the sub-menu, and so on. Such interaction can quickly become tedious.
63. Comparisons might be made across users in two ways: looking at the same cycle, that is, the third, or fifth or nth cycle, regardless of subject matter, and at cycles involving precisely the same pathway regardless of which cycle it is for each user involved.
64. See, for example, Cynthia Lee and Philip Bobko, "Self-Efficacy Beliefs: Comparison of Five Measures," Journal of Applied Psychology 79 (June 1994): 364-69.
65. Theoretical work is being done on the use of structural equations for analyzing time series data. See Stef van Buuren, "Fitting ARMA Time Series by Structural Equation Models," Psychometrika 62 (June 1997): 215-36.
66. See, for example, Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation"; Bandura, "Human Agency"; Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
67. See, for example, Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation"; Bandura, "Human Agency"; Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
68. See, for example, Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation"; Bandura, "Human Agency"; Bandura, "Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Regulation."
69. Ultimately, the optimal level should be adjustable by each user.
70. See, for example, Malone, "Intrinsically Motivating Instruction."
71. For a discussion of the ways newspaper stories could take advantage of hypermedia in general, see Fredin, "Rethinking the News Story for the Internet."
72. Malone and Lepper, "Making Learning Fun."
73. Marcia J. Bates, "The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface," Online Review 13 (October 1989): 407-424.
74. See, for example, David H. Jonassen, "Hypertext as Instructional Design," Educational Technology Research and Development 39 (1,1991): 83-92.
75. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Isabella S. Csikszentmihalyi, eds., Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre "Optimal Experience in Work and Leisure."
76. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Isabella S. Csikszentmihalyi, eds., Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre "Optimal Experience in Work and Leisure."
77. Flow is not the same as being in control because being in control can be largely automatic, as driving a car often is.
78. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Robert W. Kubey, "Television and the Rest of Life: A Systematic Comparison of Subjective Experience," Public Opinion Quarterly 45 (fall 1981): 317-28; Linda K. Trevino and Jane Webster, "Flow in Computer-mediated Communication: Electronic Mail and Voice Mail Evaluation and Impacts," Communication Research 19 (October 1992): 539-73.
79. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Robert W. Kubey, "Television and the Rest of Life: A Systematic Comparison of Subjective Experience," Public Opinion Quarterly 45 (fall 1981): 317-28; Linda K. Trevino and Jane Webster, "Flow in Computer-mediated Communication: Electronic Mail and Voice Mail Evaluation and Impacts," Communication Research 19 (October 1992): 539-73.