Psychological factors behind incidental information acquisition

Library & Information Science Research 28 (2006) 579 – 594

Psychological factors behind incidental information acquisition Jannica Heinström Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Department of Library and Information Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 4 Huntington Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA Available online 9 November 2006

Abstract This paper discusses incidental information acquisition in the light of psychological aspects. A theoretical introduction is followed by an account of three research projects where incidental information acquisition was related to personality traits, approaches to studying, and emotions. The respondents were grades 6–12, master's thesis, and mature library and information science (LIS) students representing an age range of 12–53 years. An energetic personality, high motivation, and positive emotionality were shown to enhance likelihood for incidental acquisition, while low motivation, stress, and insecurity reduced receptivity. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Serendipitous information acquisition deserves more attention within the LIS field. An increased understanding of spontaneous and unexpected aspects of information retrieval would be useful in the design of information services, in addition to the theoretical value of an enhanced understanding of human information behavior. Conceptualizing information retrieval as an intentional search outcome is reflected in the very terminology of the field, where the information acquisition process, as a rule, is referred to as information seeking, E-mail address: [email protected]. 0740-8188/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2006.03.022

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which implies a conscious attempt to fill a recognized information need. While methodical, structured searching foremost would engage cognitive processes, other psychological aspects may come into play in incidental information acquisition. An ever-growing information flow increases the likelihood that some of the information, which will make an impact in our professional or private lives will come to us by mere chance. When potentially valuable information is encountered an important ability would be the capacity to recognize it. If a person is not alert enough, the message remains unnoticed regardless of its potential value. What makes a person attentive at a particular moment may lie more in the person's psychological receptivity than in the medium itself. The conscious or unconscious decision to pursue information is guided by a complex process of cognition, motivation, and emotion. Attention is the crucial prerequisite for incidental information acquisition, but merely receptivity and registration is not enough if the message is not further processed. The more urgent or crucial an information need is, the more alert the individual likely would be. But without basic topical knowledge, there is no capacity to interpret and receive the message, without motivation there would be no interest to pick it up, and in emotionally stressed moods thought processes may be blocked against divergent thinking. This article explores incidental information acquisition from a psychological perspective with a focus on whether certain personality traits, study approaches, or emotional states make students more prone to acquire valuable information by chance. The following research questions are explored: 1. Are students with certain personality traits more likely to experience incidental information acquisition? And if so, which personality traits are connected to this experience? 2. Are students with certain approaches to studying more likely to experience incidental information acquisition? And if so, which approaches to studying are connected to this experience? 3. Are certain emotions connected to the likelihood of experiencing incidental information acquisition? And if so, which emotions?

2. Incidental information acquisition In this article, incidental information acquisition (IIA) is defined as acquiring (useful or interesting) information while not consciously looking for it. This definition is based particularly on Williamson's (1998) notion of “finding information unexpectedly while engaged in other activities” (p. 24). It includes information retrieved while searching for another topic, which implicitly seems excluded from the definition by Williamson. The acquisition process is here in focus, rather than the content of the retrieved information. It is the way information is found that is considered relevant, not whether the information content is expected or unexpected (as compared with Foster & Ford, 2003). To clarify the significance of content of the retrieved information, it was considered central to include a

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statement regarding information quality, to exclude the constant information “chatter” that surrounds us. This was drawn from Erdelez's (1997) conception of “memorable experiences of accidental discovery of useful or interesting information” (p. 412). Erdelez's illustrative definition was, however, considered too specific to be directly employed for the study. The mere recognition that IIA has occurred implicitly suggests that the respondent's experience is remembered, but as the aim was to capture a general awareness of the experience, the word memorable was considered too strong for the purpose of the present study. Useful definitions of this complex phenomenon have also been provided by Foster and Ford (2003), Toms (1998, 2000), and Wilson and Walsh (1996). Previous research has described serendipitous information retrieval during pleasure reading (Ross, 1999), everyday information seeking (Savolainen, 1995), and through libraries, seminars, media, personal networks, or the Internet (Chen & Hernon, 1982; Erdelez, 1997; Erdelez & Rioux, 2000; Williamson, 1998). A wide and explorative use of information sources enhances the likelihood for incidental information acquisition (Heinström, 2002; Jacobsen, 1998; Toms, 2000). Information retrieval is an interactive process that depends both on the information seeker and the medium (Foster, 2004). Timing and context (Solomon, 1997) are crucial for incidental acquisition. At any given moment, people have many simultaneous information gaps and interests, some of which are consciously pursued and others of which they may not even be fully aware. “Serendipity” may not always be pure luck; people in general do not search for highly specific items, but rather look for alternatives in an uncertain and complex information environment (Rice, McCreadie, & Chang, 2001). Incidental information acquisition is an outcome, a moment of successful retrieval, while browsing and other search behaviors are processes that may end up to be unproductive. Incidental discoveries occur most frequently during browsing or daily monitoring activities, like reading a newspaper (Erdelez, 1997; Erdelez & Rioux, 2000; Proper & Bruza, 1999; Rosenfield & Morville, 1998; Toms, 1998). Unexpected information may however also be encountered through purposeful searching about another topic (Erdelez & Rioux, 2000). This brings the latent information need to the surface, while the foreground problem pulls back. Whether the person actually decides to pursue the encountered information depends on the context. An innovative attempt to study incidental information acquisition in a controlled environment found that even if useful information is encountered the urge to follow up on it may be suppressed (Erdelez, 2004). As this happened in a controlled environment, the results may indirectly reveal the psychological dimension of unexpected information acquisition. Examination of encountered information may be more likely in relaxed settings.

3. Psychological aspects of incidental information acquisition Every information gathering process starts at a fundamental sensory level when the information piece is noticed. We constantly consciously and unconsciously select which messages we react to, process, and ultimately store. Background knowledge and preparation facilitate the ability to recognize the potential value of serendipitously retrieved information

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(Seifert, Meyer, Davidson, Patalano, & Yaniv, 1994). Browsing and incidental discovery are both processes that involve less cognitive load but demand more attentiveness (Marchionini, 1995). One of the central elements in incidental information acquisition is the ability to recognize potentially relevant information. The degree of attention depends on the match between the message and the receiver's interests, topical familiarity, motivation, and emotional response (Lang, Borse, Wise, & David, 2002). The more emotions an experience triggers, the more likely it is to be noted (Burgin, 2001). Unexpected or threatening information automatically elicits a reaction, which explains why headlines with unexpected content catch attention and are remembered for a longer time (Lang et al., 2002; Shoemaker, 1996). But mere cognitive awareness is not enough if not supported by other characteristics. In the process of incidental discovery, attention switches from the task in which the individual currently is involved towards examination of the serendipitously retrieved. Interests, priorities, and individual differences all come to play in this complex process (Spink & Park, 2005). The following section highlights what previous research has revealed regarding psychological receptivity for information acquisition. Certain personality traits as well as certain motivational and emotional states seem to enhance serendipitous discovery. Personality traits have long been acknowledged as making certain persons more “serendipity prone” (Merton & Barber, 2004). Serendipitous discoverers tend to share characteristics like sagacity, awareness, curiosity, flexible thinking, and persistence (Roberts, 1989). Previous research has shown that extraversion and openness to experience increase receptivity to the unexpected (Pickering & Gray, 2001). Browsing and wide enthusiastic information exploration seems to be particularly common among outgoing and spontaneous persons who crave variation (Heeter & Greenberg, 1985; Heinström, 2002). Similar traits – curiosity, adventure seeking, and a wide range of interests – have been found among frequent encounterers of useful information (Erdelez, 1997). “Superencounterers” seem to be innovative (Kirton, 1989), open to experience, and extraverted (Costa & McCrae, 1992). The extraverts' activity and excitement seeking is grounded in basic neurological processes, as they have a higher need for outer incentives than introverts (Pickering & Gray, 2001). The Five Factor personality model employed in the present study measured extraversion and openness to experience, along with sensitivity, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The Five Factor framework is considered to be the most developed model of personality to date (McCrae, 2000). The hypothesis for the present study was that extraverted and open students would be more inclined to incidental information acquisition. Motivation is the basic fuel for information seeking (Nahl, 2004). The more interested a person is in the search topic, the more explorative and broad the searches tend to become. A temporary emotional state or a character-induced general invitational mood expands information seeking, while an indicative mood closes down the search (Heinström, 2002; Kuhlthau, 2004). As the population of the present study was students, the motivation framework employed measured different approaches to studying. This model describes three study approaches: a deep approach, where the student is involved in their own learning process; a surface approach, defined by rote learning and

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memorization; and a strategic approach, where students focus on achievement. Based on previous research, it was assumed that deep-approach students would be more likely to acquire information incidentally due to their topical interests, while surface-approach students would be more likely to overlook the unexpected due to their overall lack of study involvement. The emotional dimension of information seeking has been recognized within LIS since the ground breaking work by Kuhlthau (1991). LIS researchers, however, still remain reluctant to explore this topic further (Julien, McKechnie, & Hart, 2005). A holistic and realistic understanding of incidental information acquisition would need to include an affective component, as receptivity, creativity, and attention is highly dependent on mood. Temporary feelings of confidence and competence as well as a generally relaxed and open personality have been shown to lead to exploration, browsing, and incidental information acquisition (Heinström, 2002; Nahl & James, 1996). High-activation states such as joy and amusement as well as low-activation states such as contentment or serenity broaden the scope of visual attention and facilitate cognitive information processing (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; Reed & Aspinwall, 1998; Trope & Pomerantz, 1998). Positive emotions trigger neurochemical reactions and activate cerebral areas that stabilize the nervous system. This enhances creativity, flexibility, and cognitive breadth (Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987). Information is often encountered while surfing the Internet (Erdelez & Rioux, 2000). This may be related to the relaxed mode of leisurely Web surfing, which inspires divergent thinking (Campos & Dias de Figueiredo, 2001). Divergent thinking induces flexible information seeking and increases receptivity for unexpected discoveries, while focused thinking is effective when searching for an articulated information piece (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983: Ford, 1999). Stress and negative emotionality on the other hand reduce flexibility and hinder explorative behavior (Berlyne, 1971; Csikszentmihalyi & Sawyer, 1995; De Bono, 1990). Based on previous research, it was assumed that feelings of confidence, relief, optimism, and satisfaction would increase receptivity to incidental acquisition, while experiences of disappointment, frustration, confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety would reduce it. In summary, previous studies have shown that curious, persistent, innovative, and outgoing persons have enhanced receptivity for incidental information acquisition. In addition, temporary topical engagement, high motivation, and positive emotionality increase the likelihood of finding interesting information by chance.

4. Method This article reports findings from three research projects where incidental information acquisition (IIA) was studied as one part of a larger study with another main purpose. The aim of this article was to relate incidental information acquisition to psychological factors: personality, study approach, and feelings. IIA was further compared to general informationseeking style and information-seeking experience. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used for these purposes.

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4.1. Population 4.1.1. Study A The material for Study A was collected between January and May 2000 at the Åbo Akademi University in Finland from 305 students who were seeking information for their master's thesis. The average age was 28 (SD = 13). The respondents represented all the departments at the university—Arts, Chemical Engineering, Economics and Social Sciences, Education, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Social and Caring Sciences and Theology. 4.1.2. Study B The material for Study B was collected between January and May 2004 in New Jersey, USA. The population consisted of 574 students, grades 6 to 12, from 10 diverse public schools. The students studied a broad range of curriculum topics in the humanities, social studies, chemistry, and biology. 4.1.3. Study C The material for Study C was collected in October 2004 at the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University, USA. The respondents of the study were 27 mature (average age = 36, SD = 11) Library and Information Science students. A majority of the respondents had a background in education as teachers and were pursuing an additional degree at Rutgers to obtain qualification as school librarians (Table 1). 4.2. Instruments 4.2.1. Incidental information acquisition 4.2.1.1. Study A. The measure of incidental information acquisition in Study A was a statement, “Sometimes I come across information even though I am not consciously looking for it,” on a 5-point Likert scale from “false” to “true”. 4.2.1.2. Study B. The measure of incidental information acquisition in Study B was a statement, “ I have incidentally come across useful information at times when I Table 1 Summary of population and instruments used in the three studies

Population Information seeking aspect related to IIA Questionnaire statement for IIA NEO Five-Factor Inventory (personality) The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory (study approach) Measure of affective aspect of seeking

Study A

Study B

Study C

University students Style of searching x x x

Grades 6–12 students Facilitating searching x x (adapted version)

Mature students Habitual searching x x x

x

x

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was not looking for it,” on a 4-point Likert scale from “almost never” to “almost always”. 4.2.1.3. Study C. The measure of incidental information acquisition in Study C was three statements: “ Useful information can be found in unexpected contexts,” “I incidentally come across useful information when I am not looking for it,” and “When I search information about one topic, I find information that I can use for another purpose,” on a 4-point Likert scale from “almost never” to “almost always.” These three inter-correlated scales were combined to an overall scale of incidental information acquisition that was further related to the other variables of the study. 4.2.2. Information-seeking behavior 4.2.2.1. Study A. The questionnaire, which measured information-seeking behavior in Study A, consisted of 70 questions about the students' information behavior. For more details regarding the method, the reader is referred to Heinström (2002). 4.2.2.2. Study B. What the students considered easy regarding information seeking in Study B was measured by an open response question, “Write down what you think is easy about researching your topic?” The students' replies to the open response question were coded qualitatively based on an axial coding process (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The categories of codes were derived from the actual student replies. 4.2.2.3. Study C. The questionnaire measuring information-seeking behavior in Study C consisted of open response questions and statements on a Likert scale. The open response questions asked the respondents to describe their information-seeking habits, how they usually started their searches, what they usually felt while searching, and what they experienced as the best and worst part of information seeking. They were also asked to explain why they had taken on these habits and reasons for the feelings described. The students' replies to the open response questions were coded through an axial coding process grounded in actual student replies (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The second part of the questionnaire consisted of 34 statements where the respondents were asked to state on a scale from “almost never” to “almost always,” how much the statements corresponded to their information-seeking habits. The statements regarded experiences like information overload, time pressure, relevance judgment, document choice criteria, and degree of structure in information seeking. Some of these questions were combined theoretically by linking together statements that measured the characteristics of three information-seeking styles found in Study A: fast surfing, broad scanning, and deep diving (Heinström, 2002). 4.2.3. Personality 4.2.3.1. Studies A and C. The students' personalities in Studies A and C were tested by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, which measures five core dimensions of personality: sensitivity,

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extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The NEO FiveFactor Inventory is a well-established personality test that has been validated and used in several cultural contexts (Costa & McCrae, 1992). 4.2.4. Approaches to studying 4.2.4.1. Studies A and C. The deep, surface, and strategic approaches to studying were examined in Studies A and C using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students, ASSIST (Tait, Entwistle, & McCune, 1998). Students with a deep approach were intrinsically motivated, while their surface counterparts mainly concentrated on memorizing. Typical for strategic approach students was aiming at achievement and efficient organization of study work (Entwistle & Tait, 1996). The validated ASSIST test has a long history of test development. It has been tested for reliability and been found consistent and coherent. The latest version of the ASSIST inventory is reported in Entwistle and McCune (2005). ASSIST was originally developed for use among university students, as the one in Study A. Therefore, the instrument was adapted for grades 6–12 students in Study C. The validity of the instrument among younger students was given considerable attention. Phrasing of the statements was adjusted to use among children ages 12–15 while ensuring that the meaning of the question remained intact. The adjusted statements were tested among teachers and school librarians working with this age group, and the instrument was adapted according to given feedback. The intent of this research project was not to develop ASSIST for younger students, but it was nevertheless important that the instrument was validated within this population. The first step in the analyses was therefore to validate the instrument and test its correspondence to the standardized instrument. Reliability for the scales within the population was tested with Cronbach alpha and gave the following results: deep (0.61), surface (0.65), and strategic (0.72). The IMLS sample followed the normal distribution, showing an average of 15 (SD = 3.08) on the surface scale, an average of 17 (SD = 2.56) on the deep scale, and an average of 18 (SD = 2.88) on the strategic scale. These measures correspond to the original ASSIST scale and the revised version was therefore considered valid enough to use for the purpose of this research project. It should be noted that although the total population in this study was 574 students, only 348 had replied to the ASSIST questionnaire. The overall population included several incomplete questionnaire sets, and one school had chosen not to distribute the questionnaire. Therefore, the sample relevant for the present article is the 348 students that had replied the ASSIST questionnaire and the question concerning incidental information acquisition. 4.2.5. Feelings 4.2.5.1. Study B. In Study B, students' feelings of confidence, disappointment, relief, frustration, confusion, optimism, uncertainty, satisfaction, and anxiety were measured on a 4point scale from “very,” “fairly,” “a little” to “not at all”.

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5. Results 5.1. Occurrence of incidental information acquisition Accidental retrieval of useful information is a little researched phenomenon, probably due to the obvious difficulty in capturing unexpected serendipity. The phenomenon itself, however, does not seem unfamiliar. Seventy-seven percent of the participants, students in an age range from 12 to 53, studying a broad range of subject fields, reported experiences of incidental information acquisition. Of the grades 6–12 students (Study B), 76% (n = 263 of 348) appeared familiar with this experience, as 24% (n = 83) of them strongly agreed and 52% (n = 180) agreed with the statement: “ I have incidentally come across useful information at times when I was not looking for it.” It may be particularly noteworthy that as few as 11 (3%) out of the 348 students stated that they strongly disagreed with this statement. Fourteen percent (n = 42 of 303) of master's thesis students (Study A) strongly agreed and 52% (n = 157) agreed with the statement: “Sometimes I come across information even though I am not consciously looking for it.” Four percent (n = 11) were neutral, while 24% (n = 72) disagreed, and 7% (n = 21 of 303) strongly disagreed with the statement. In the ILS population (Study C), none of the respondents had marked “almost never” regarding the following statements that aimed to measure incidental information acquisition: ▪ When I search information about one topic, I find information that I can use for another purpose (“often” 65%, n = 17 of 26 and “almost always” 8%, n = 2 of 26). ▪ Useful information can be found in unexpected context (“often” 73%, n = 19 of 26 and “almost always” 23%, n = 6 of 26). ▪ I incidentally come across useful information when I am not looking for it (“often” 69%, n = 18 of 26 and “almost always” 4%, n = 1 of 26). 5.2. Relation between search style and incidental information acquisition Study A revealed that incidental information acquisition seemed to occur in conjunction with broad scanning, a search style where a topic is spontaneously explored through a wide use of sources (r = 0.38, p = 0.0001). Deep diving, a precise search mode with a focus on highquality sources, was negatively connected to accidental retrieval (r = −0.20, p = 0.0004). Fast surfing, where little effort is invested in information seeking, showed no relation to incidental acquisition (r = 0.02, p = 0.76). In Study C, two patterns of students' descriptions of information seeking emerged from the qualitative analyses: students who stressed more exploratory aspects of information seeking and students who described their information seeking as systematic. Explorative students enjoyed information seeking and particularly appreciated coming across inspirational material, which they often discovered incidentally. The best part of information seeking for these students was “learning new and unexpected things on accident,” “finding unexpected things and finding things that connect to something you have thought before,” and “when you

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find something really fascinating that you did not expect to find.” They described their habitual ways of information seeking as intuitive, browsing, meandering, disorganized, and scattered. These students used the Internet as their main source of information. This is a browser-friendly environment, which lends itself to unexpected discovery of interesting or useful information. The explorative students scored particularly high on openness to experience. While the explorative searchers valued each step of the ongoing process of discovery, the systematic students enjoyed their information seeking the most when they met their information need. This search pattern resembled a structured problem-solving process, where the best parts of information seeking were “finally finding (what one) is looking for” or “coming across the perfect source.” The systematic students often referred to their information seeking in terms of being methodical, structured, directed, and logical. These students characteristically obtained high personality scores for conscientiousness. The explorative students seem to employ the broad scanning search style, while the systematic students search by deep diving. In Study B, the grades 6–12 samples, the students were asked about what they found easy in information seeking. A majority of the students who mentioned cognitive or interest related aspects of information seeking had experienced incidental information acquisition. Students who stated that previous topical knowledge (67%, n = 8 of 12), learning about the topic (100%, n = 6 of 6), or topical interest (100%, n = 6 of 6) made information seeking easier had found information incidentally. This indicates that topical familiarity and interest increase the likelihood for incidental discoveries among children. This finding supports the link between motivation, previous knowledge, and incidental information acquisition. 5.3. Relation between personality and incidental information acquisition The findings of both Study A and Study C revealed that the strongest connection between incidental information acquisition and personality seemed to be a positive link to extraversion (see Table 2). Study A also showed a negative relationship to agreeableness, supporting a link between competitiveness and incidental information acquisition. The final significant finding indicated a connection of incidental information acquisition to a secure and stable character with low levels of neuroticism. The hypothesis that extraversion would enhance receptivity was supported in the data, but the hypothesized connection between incidental information acquisition and openness to experience was only supported by a non-significant relation in Study A. Table 2 The relationship between incidental information acquisition and personality Incidental information acquisition

N

E

O

A

C

Master students

r = −0.02, p = 0.76 r = −0.39, p = 0.04

r = 0.13, p = 0.03 r = 0.4, p = 0.04

r = 0.11, p = 0.07 r = 0.14, p = 0.5

r = −0.14, p = 0.02 r = 0.08, p = 0.71

r = 0.03, p = 0.58 r = 0.08, p = 0.7

Mature ILS students

Findings in Studies A and C. The significant correlations are marked with bold.

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Table 3 The relationship between incidental information acquisition and approach to studying Incidental information acquisition

Deep

Surface

Strategic

Grades 6–12 students Master students Mature ILS students

r = 0.15, p = 0.003 r = 0.11, p = 0.05 r = 0.41, p = 0.04

r = −.04, p = 0.46 r = −0.05, p = 0.36 r = −0.3, p = 0.14

r = .16, p = 0.002 r = 0.10, p = 0.07 r = 0.28, p = 0.17

Findings in Studies A, B, and C. The significant correlations are marked with bold.

5.4. Relation between study approach and incidental information acquisition All three studies revealed that students with intrinsic motivation and personal engagement in their study topic often discovered useful information accidentally (see Table 3). Intrinsically motivated students employ a deep approach, where information is used as a building block for their personal topical comprehension (Entwistle, McCune, & Scheja, 2006). Topical involvement makes a motivated person more alert to cues in the environment and more eager to pick them up. Extrinsically motivated students tend to adopt a surface approach to studying, characterized by the reproduction of information through rote learning (Entwistle et al., 2006). Incentives may remain unnoticed by these more indifferent students. Study A indicated a positive correlation between a strategic approach with non-significant support found in Study B. Strategically orientated students adjust their study approach according to task demands in order to obtain good study results (Entwistle et al., 2006). The strategic alertness to serendipitous retrieval is likely to be related to an overall achievement oriented engagement in school work, instead of springing out of pure interest. The positive connection between a deep approach to studying and incidental information acquisition and the negative one between a surface study approach and incidental information acquisition confirmed the hypotheses of the study. 5.5. Relation between feelings and incidental information acquisition Students who felt confident, certain, and satisfied (with low frustration and confusion) seemed most likely to incidentally retrieve useful information (see Table 4). The main hypothesis that positive emotions are linked to incidental acquisition, whereas negative emotions may be a barrier, was supported in the study. Table 4 shows the significant

Table 4 The relationship between incidental information acquisition and feelings Incidental information acquisition

Confident

Frustrated

Confused

Uncertain

Satisfied

Grades 6–12 students

r = 0.26, p = 0.002

r = −0.20, p = 0.02

r = −0.19, p = 0.03

r = −0.23, p = 0.009

r = 0.17, p = 0.05

Findings in Study A. This table only shows significant correlations.

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relations between emotions and incidental acquisition, where confidence and satisfaction increase receptivity while frustration, confusion, and uncertainty reduce it. Relief and optimism had a non-significant positive relation to incidental information acquisition, while disappointment and anxiety had a negative one. The research questions were answered as follows: 1. Outgoing, competitive, and secure students seem more likely to experience incidental information acquisition. 2. Students with a deep and/or strategic approach to studying seem more likely to experience incidental information acquisition. 3. Students who felt confident, certain, and satisfied seem more likely to experience incidental information acquisition.

6. Discussion The study sought to explore the relation between incidental information acquisition (IIA) and personality, study approach, and feelings. It was shown that high motivation, positive emotionality, and an open curious personality enhanced receptivity to IIA. The characteristics that were shown to increase receptivity to incidental information acquisition resemble those of serendipitous and innovative researchers. Discoverers, of information or invention, seem driven by persistence, conscientiousness, sagacity and/or curiosity, creativity, and flexibility. Two different mechanisms seem at play in this process, interacting and supporting each other: the driven engagement is either fueled by ambition or the playful enjoyment of discovery. A precise search style, deep diving, would correspond to a cognitive dimension of left-brain dominated rational thinking, and resemble the basic neural motivational process of temporary wanting. Explorative searching through broad scanning seems to correspond more to right-brain dominated intuitive thinking, and the motivational trigger of ongoing liking (Edwards, 2003; Litman, 2005). One of the keys behind incidental information acquisition seems to be the ability to enjoy information seeking, whether it is grounded in a genuine interest to learn more about the topic, a relaxed invitational mood, an optimistic personality, or temporary feelings of confidence, certainty, and satisfaction. The connection between IIA and the excitement of discovery was supported in the qualitative data among involved grades 6– 12 students, and the broad scanning mature students. Positive emotionality, both in terms of temporary states and more lasting traits, enhances receptivity to incidental information acquisition. Positive emotionality not only increases perceptiveness and creativity at a fundamental neurological level (Isen et al., 1987), but its consequence – exposure to various documents through wide and spontaneous exploration – also enhances opportunities for discovery. Grades 6–12 students who pointed to previous knowledge as increasing accidental discovery, and the hard work of the systematic students of Study C, point to the other path of serendipity: ambitious persistence and time devoted to information interaction.

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Explorative broad scanning seems to be the search style most likely to lead to incidental acquisition since it contains both a favorable intuitive search mode and an enjoyment of the search process, while this is still ongoing and the result is unknown. Systematic searching and deep diving can also lead to serendipitous retrieval, but a precondition may be that the deep diver has a genuine interest in the search topic. The most impenetrable barriers against unexpected discoveries seem to be indifference, boredom, negative emotionality, idleness, and fast surfing. The very personality trait of curiosity, openness to experience, was curiously not significantly related to incidental information acquisition. Although this hypothesis was supported by a non-significant finding in Study A, it was not confirmed in Study C. It should be noted that Study C consisted of only 27 students, which constitutes a severe methodological barrier to generalization. Another possibility is that mere openness in itself is not enough, unless supported by a certain amount of activity. Openness to experience may be the characteristic that lies behind the actual recognition of potentially useful information when it is encountered. But perhaps reaching this point requires the energetic information seeking of active and outgoing persons. The connection, or the lack thereof between openness to experience and incidental acquisition leaves questions worthy of further investigation. The material was collected through self-report questionnaires in which respondents were asked whether IIA had occurred to them. Although the study sought to capture a general nonspecific awareness of IIA, this general awareness inevitably needs to be grounded in respondents' memories, whether specific or merely vague notions. This raises the question whether these experiences, strong enough to be remembered, share particular features (e.g., solving crucial information needs). This question is not without importance for a realistic estimate of occurrence of incidental information acquisition. If the respondents mainly relate IIA to discoveries of useful, urgent, surprising, and intriguing information the emotionality involved could be more related to information content than manner of acquisition. The incidentally found information piece can evoke a variety of positive emotions from the thrill of surprise and joy of discovery to satisfaction of a problem solved and the relief of spared effort. The boundaries of incidental information acquisition in relation to other occasions of information retrieval remain blurred. Is it the time and situation where information is discovered that defines the concept? Is it the moment of discovery that is crucial? Is it whether the information will be used or not? Is it whether the information will be remembered? What can be defined as serendipity? Many questions regarding incidental information acquisition remain unanswered. The recognition of seemly irrational and unstructured information behavior holds a lucrative branch for future research. As we explore this issue further, our most insightful and innovative discoveries may lie in the unexpected aspects we presently discount.

7. Conclusion Full comprehension of serendipity is a contradiction of terms. But this does not justify neglecting its role in information retrieval. It is important to acknowledge and understand the

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