College and Research Libraries Psychological Needs and Source Linkages in Undergraduate Information-Seeking Behavior Kathleen Dunn Psychological motivation for information searching is an important area of research that has received relatively little attention. This study addresses these motivatio11s in an academic envi- ronment. Psychological needs causing undergraudates to seek informtion in the context of con- tinuing motivation are identified. In addition, the study identifies categories of sources used to satisfy these information needs and empirically establishes significant relationships between the motivating needs and categories of sources used. nformation seeking is a behav- ior, a human activity like writ- ing a memo, driving a car, or talking on the phone. Since it is a behavior, it is logical to propose that it stems from sources common to all behav- iors. Psychologists try to determine why people do what they do. Librarians, though intimately involved in information seeking on a professional as well as a per- sonal level, have paid little attention to the psychological sources of this behavior. A look at user studies shows that the focus has been primarily on the demands peo- ple make on information systems, second- arily on users and their characteristics, and rarely on the psychological aspects of use. However, as librarianship builds a stronger interdisciplinary base encom- passing theory as well as practice, it is ap- propriate to explore the contribution psy- chological theories make to our understanding of information seeking be- havior. In 1981 T. D. Wilson, a British colleague, published an article in the Journal of Docu- mentation that challenged me to take a closer look at the psychological motiva- tions for information searching. 1 In this ar- ticle he suggests that we shift our empha- sis from sources and systems to the user, and that we include in this examination a careful look at the motivational and psy- chological needs underlying the search for information. Wilson notes that studies dealing with information-seeking behav- ior often fail to address the core issues. He says, "Such studies may never address the central question of 'information need,' that is, why the user decides to seek infor- mation, what purpose he believes it will serve and to what use it is actually put when received." 2 To make the point even stronger, Wilson suggests that "it may be advisable to remove the term 'information need' from our professional vocabulary and to speak instead of information seek- ing towards the satisfaction. of needs." 3 I Kathleen Dunn is Head of the Reference Department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Cali- fornia 91768. This paper was presented at the ACRL Fourth National Conference in Baltimore, April9-12, 1986. 475 476 College & Research Libraries decided to follow Wilson's advice and study the needs that information seeking might satisfy. THE STUDY Since I am an academic librarian, I chose to investigate the needs influencing un- dergraduates to seek information. In addi- tion, I wanted to discover the sources they used; and, since students have a wide range to choose from, whether the needs influencing the search also influenced the sources selected. The study is set within the context of continuing motivation, a term proposed by Martin Maehr, 4 which is the tendency of students to return to an interest first en- countered in class when there is no re- quirement or external pressure to do so. A basic assumption underlying the study is that undergraduate information-seeking behavior in the context of continuing mo- tivation is an attempt at need satisfaction. Given the fact that information seeking as need satisfaction is a relatively unex- plored area of study within the profes- sion, this work provides answers to a set of questions rather than supporting or re- jecting hypotheses. To be precise, the fol- lowing research questions were investi- gated: (1) What are the psychological needs that motivate undergraduates to seek course-related information outside of class requirements and discussions? (2) What information sources do undergrad- uates use to satisfy their information re- quirements? (3) What significant relation- ships, if any, can be identified between initiating needs and the sources used to satisfy information requirements? METHODOLOGY The data were collected according to a method frequently used by psychologists in which one explores the parameters of the problem through a series of interviews and then constructs a questionnaire based on the interviews. Each step in the process builds on the knowledge gained from the previous step. First, I talked to students in their dorms, on the lawns, in the cafeteria, anywhere I could find them (except the library, so as not to prejudice their response to my September 1986 probing on sources). The critical-incident technique helped them to focus on a par- ticular class and on the particular informa- tion they sought. 5 Through discussion, I attempted to discover why they had per- sisted in seeking this information. This was the first series of interviews, and from it a group of questions was developed to ask a different set of students. The second interviews, structured around a list of questions, were asked of a randomly selected sample of students. However, these interviews were still con- sidered exploratory and flexibility was al- lowed to ask further questions or to change the order of questions to elicit more information. Third, based on the results of the inter- views, I developed a six-page question- naire. The pretested questionnaire was administered to a stratified, random sam- ple of 625 undergraduates on the La Sierra Campus of Lorna Linda University. (Study results are actually based on 566 re- sponses because 59 or 9 percent of the 625 questionnaires collected proved unusa- ble.) The questionnaire was constructed around three components: (1) sixty-one operational needs (derived from the inter- views) and their intensity; (2) sixteen used sources (derived from the interviews) and their importance; (3) demographic data. In the first questions I again used the critical-incident technique to focus there- spondent's attention on a particular class in which he or she went beyond class re- quirements in seeking information. Ques- tions dealing with needs and sources were formulated in terms of a Likert-type scale in which the subjects were asked to .rate themselves along a continuum of inten- sity. This provided enough variability in the data to determine the hidden or sub- merged factors and offered a better esti- mate of the actual correlation between the items. Factor analysis and canonical correla- tion analysis were used to analyze the data. Factor analysis is a powerful statistical tool for reducing large amounts of data to manageable and understandable propor- tions. Canonical correlation analysis maxi- mizes the relationship between two sets of Psychological Needs 477 variables and was used to analyze rela- tionships between the previously identi- fied need and source factors. quirements. Responses to the sixty-one need variables were entered into a princi- ple components factor analysis with vari- max rotation. Six need factors emerged (table 1): need for other-approval, need for success in chosen profession, need for NEED FACTORS INFLUENCING THE INFORMATION SEARCH The first research question concerned self-extension, need for self-approval, discovery of the psychological needs moti- need for intellectual stimulation, and vating undergraduates to seek course- needs related to a successful college expe- related information beyond all class re- rience. As shown in table 1, factors are Factor 1. Need for Other-Approval 2. Need for Success in Chosen Profession 3. Needfor Self-Extension 4. Need for Self-Approval 5. Need for Intellectual Stimulation 6. Needs Related to a Successful College Experience TABLE 1 SUMMARY OF SIX NEED FACTORS Variables Need to have classmates think I' m smart Need to have teacher think I'm smart Need to compete with classmates for teacher's approval Need to do more than is required for the class so that I can feel equal to my classmates Need to have friends think I'm smart Need to have teacher notice me Need to prove myself to my husband/wife or boyfriend/ girlfriend Need to be well prepared for chosen profession Need to be successful in chosen profession Need to have broader understanding of the subjects that relate to my chosen profession Desire for more information about my major Need to meet requirements for employment in my chosen profession Need to know wide variety of things so I can feel secure in terms of job market Desire to compete better in job market Need to learn more about God Need to know more so that when I have children I can do a better job of raising them Desire to have a broader outlook toward life and people Need to know more in order to help others Need to become a whole person in terms of the mental, physical, and spiritual Need to understand different people and their environments Desire to know and understand in order to feel better about myself Need to avoid feeling frustrated by lack of knowledge Need to live up to my expectations of myself Need to feel intelligent A feeling of insecurity when I think I should know something but I don't Enjoyment of learning for its own sake Personal interest in subject of class Inner drive to learn more about the subjects that make me curious Need for the excitement and fun of finding answers Personal satisfaction Need to get my money's worth out of college Need to get good grades Need to feel that my parent' s money is well spent on In}' college education Need to get everything I can out of my college education Need to know in order to do better in upcoming classes Need to understand basic content of course Factor Loadings .83 .78 .75 .74 .72 .72 .70 .83 .82 .82 .70 .69 .68 .68 .65 .61 .61 .60 .59 .58 .61 .55 .53 .51 .50 .71 .62 .61 .58 .51 .60 .49 .49 .48 .48 .47 478 College & Research Libraries named according to the variables that load highest on them, in this case, the need variables. Examination of these need factors shows that they are at one level quite spe- cific to the educational environment; they arise from the people, situations, and ex- pectations that are part of an undergradu- ate educational setting. Within the limits of the study, it can be said that undergrad- uates decide to pursue an interest in a problem encountered in class because they seek approval, knowledge, success, and mental and spiritual challenge. These needs are stimulated by the expectation and cultural milieu of the college/univer- sity setting and are generally satisfied by the people, situations, and opportunities inherent within it. On another level, the need factors are examples of the more gen- eral and basic needs proposed by Abra- ham Maslow and refined by C. P. Alder- fer.6'7'8 Alderfer's E.R.G. theory proposes three basic categories of needs-existence, relatedness, and growth. His theory states that these needs are innate and that they energize and sustain behavior through cy- cles of desire, satisfaction, and frustration. Existence needs include all material and physiological desires. Relatedness needs center around relationships. Growth needs impel people toward challenge, cre- ativity, and the full expression of their po- tential. Existence needs, evident in need factor 2 September 1986 and need factor 6, emerge as strong needs to know enough to compete in the job market and to be successful in a profes- sion. These are the expected outcomes of a college experience and they help ensure the individual's adequate supply of mate- rial resources that will satisfy the need for a physically secure environment. Related- ness needs, that is needs for approval, ac- ceptance, belonging, and love are most evident in need factors 1 and 3. Growth needs, those concerned with competence, mastery, self-transcendence, and self- actualization, are evident in need factors 2, 3, 4, and 5. Relatedness and growth needs predominate in the undergraduates surveyed. This is consistent with Maslow's and Alderfer's views that exis- tence needs are generally satisfied in our culture and that people tend to experience greater needs for love, belonging, ap- proval, and personal growth. SOURCES The second question asked for the sources undergraduates use to satisfy their desire for information. Responses to the sixteen source variables were intercor- related and the resulting matrix factored by principal-components analysis and submitted to varimax rotation. Five source factors emerged (see table 2): family, friends, libraries, expert, and personal materials. Many studies make a distinction be- TABLE2 Factor 1. Family 2. Friends 3. Libraries 4. Expert 5. Personal Materials SUMMARY OF FIVE SOURCE FACTORS Variables Friend's library Husband/wife Boyfriend/ girlfriend Brother/sister Personal library Friend Classmate Casual acquaintance Boyfriend! girlfriend Public library Departmental librarY. College/university hbrary Special purpose library Teachers library Teacher Expert in field Bookstore Personal library Factor Loadings .53 .51 .50 .49 .40 .73 .69 .40 .32 .57 .53 .48 .43 .38 .74 .43 .64 .29 1 / tween formal and informal sources of in- formation and have noted the frequency with which informal, interpersonal sources are used. For the purposes of this study, formal information channels in- clude all printed materials, audiovisual materials, and even formally organized in- formation sessions at conferences and workshops. Informal sources of informa- tion are available on an interpersonal ba- sis, center around people, and include conversations, correspondence, etc. Study results suggest that undergradu- ates make considerable use of informal, interpersonal sources. Three of the five source factors are composed primarily of informal sources-source factors 1, 2, and 4. This is consistent with studies of other groups. 9' 10'11 However, in an analysis of the sixteen sources for their importance in pro- viding information, library ranked second and personal library ranked fourth (see table 3). Teacher ranked first. This pattern sup- ports that implied in Andrew Hardy's study of speed and content as factors in the choice of an information source. 12 Authori- tative, informal sources are often chosen first, followed by authoritative, formal sources. NEED-SOURCE RELATIONSHIPS Psychological Needs 479 them. Three significant canonical variates emerged from this analysis (see table 4) that show there are indeed statistically sig- nificant relationships between certain need and source factors. The first canoni- cal variate indicates that individuals with needs for other approval and self- extension tend to use friends and family as information sources. The thrust of these relationships seems to be that certain needs require people as their primary source of satisfaction and that information seeking, as well as other activities, can be used as a means to this end. The second canonical variate shows that those with needs for intellectual stimulation and pro- / fessional success tend to use libraries and experts as information sources. The impli- cation in this need-source relationship suggests that needs based on the acquisi- tion of knowledge and use of intellectual skills predispose undergraduates to the use of libraries and experts-sources that offer the best resources for the satisfaction of these needs. The third canonical vari- ate, though significant, accounts for a smaller share of the relationship in the data than the first two canonical variates and therefore is more difficult to interpret. Basically, this variate suggests that sub- jects with strong other-centered needs use family as sources of information more fre- The third research question was re- quently than libraries or friends; and that solved by submitting the six need factors subjects with a strong need to be success- and five source factors to canonical corre- ful in college tend to seek friends and li- lation analysis in order to determine what braries as information sources rather than relationships, if any, existed between family. TABLE 3 IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION SOURCES: MEANS AND RANK ORDER Source Teachers College/university libraries Expert in field Personal library Friend Classmate Public library Bookstore Departmental library Casual acquaintance Brother/sister Special purpose library Teacher s library Boyfriend/ girlfnend Friend's library Husband/wife Note : The scale runs from 1 to 4. Small numbers indicate greater importance . Mean 1.92 2.18 2.35 2.64 2.78 3.00 3 .13 3.15 3.23 3.41 3.48 3.52 3.56 3.57 3.67 3.80 Rank 1 2 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 480 College & Research Libraries September 1986 TABLE4 SUMMARY OF CANONICAL VARIATES Canonical Variate 1. Canonical Correlation .482 Chi-Square 195.278 Significance .000 2. Canonical Correlation .351 Chi-Square 99.170 Significance .000 3. Canonical Correlation .337 Chi-Square 51.419 Significance .000 IMPLICATIONS Factors With needs for: Other-approval Self-extension Use: Friends Family With needs for: Intellectual stimulation Professional success Use: Libraries Expert Do Not Use: Friends With high need for: Self -extension Use: Family _ DoNofUse: Friends Libraries With high need for: Successful college experience Use: Friends Libraries Do Not Use: Family Canonical Loadings - .70 - .51 -.62 -.40 -.74 -.58 - .54 -.43 .59 .70 .90 - .50 - .39 - .65 - .50 - .39 .90 sons that are now clearer, it is often not their first choice. Others have included psychological fac- tors in information studies; 13' 14' 15 however, this research is unique in two respects. It identifies a group of needs motivating in- formation searching in a particular class of people and it finds statistically significant relationships connectinr these needs to categories of sources. 1 As a result, we now have empirical evidence to assist us in better understanding the motivational factors behind a student's search for infor- mation in an academic environment. These need-source relationships sug- gest that we should continue our efforts to make the library user friendly. Biblio- graphic instruction, reference service (along with friendly smiles and a support- ive attitude), suggestion boxes, etc., really do help establish our friendship with stu- dents as well as our competence as profes- sional information providers . But perhaps this is not enough. Librarians do not have the same level of exposure to students as te~ching faculty nor do they participate as frequently in student activities outside the library. As a result of their broader exposure to stu- dents, teachers often develop lasting friendships with them. (It is interesting to note that in this study, teachers were con- sidered the most important source of in- formation.) Might it not be possible for us to participate more frequently with stu- dents in campus activities. Several things The need factors identified help us to understand the psychological context in which students pursue their studies. That some of these needs influence choice of in- formation sources is not surprising, since our needs exert influence over much of our behavior. Neither is it surprising that many students do not use the library. A variety of sources is available to them. The library is only one of these, and, for rea- l i ' come to mind-join student clubs in which you have an interest, sponsor a col- lege bowl, start a student reading group, develop a student-library liaison program. Much more research needs to be done in this area. The results of this study can be- come hypotheses for future research to be conducted in a similar environment or Psychological Needs 481 modified for an entirely different context. Until we have more data on need-source linkages, it will be difficult to design sys- tems that take these relationships into ac- count. But the possibilities are exciting be- cause libraries provide a variety of types of sources, both formal and informal. REFERENCES 1. Thomas D. Wilson, "On User Studies and Information Needs," Journal of Documentation 37:3-15 (Mar. 1981). 2. Wilson, "User Studies and Information Needs," p .7. 3. Wilson, "User Studies and Information Needs," p.8 . 4. Martin L. Maehr, "Continuing Motivation: An Analysis of a Seldom Considered Education Out- come," Review of Educational Research 46:443-62 (Sept . 1976) . 5. J. C. Flanagan, "The Critical Incident Technique," Psychological Bulletin 51:327-58 (July 1954). 6. Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality (New York: Harper, 1954). 7. Abraham Maslow, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature (New York: Viking, 1971) . 8. C. P. Alderfer, Existence, Relatedness, and Growth: Human Needs in Organizational Settings (New York: Free Pr., 1972). 9. Herbert Menzel, The Flow of Information among Scientists (New York: Columbia Univ., Bureau of Applied .Research, 1958). 10. Janet Friedlander, ''Clinician Search for Information,'' Journal of the American Society for Information Science 24:65-69 (Jan ./Feb. 1973). 11. H . J. C. Matheson, Information Seeking Behavior and Attitudes to Information among Education Practi- tioners (Ph.D. diss. , Univ. of British Columbia, 1979). 12. Andrew Hardy, "The Selection of Channels when Seeking Information: Cost/Benefit vs. Least- Effort," Information Processing & Management 18:289-93 (Sept. 1982) . 13. E. B. Parker and W . J. Paisley, Patterns of Adult Information Seeking (Stanford, Calif. : Stanford Univ ., 1966). (ED 010 294). 14. Douglas Zweizig, Predicting Amount of Library Use: An Empirical Study of the Role of the Public Library in the Life of the Adult Public (Ph .D. diss ., Syracuse Univ ., 1973) . 15. Morell D. Boone, Expectancies and Values as Predictors of Motivation of Pre-Decisional Informa- tion Search (Ph.D . diss ., Syracuse Univ., 1980) . 16 . Kathleen K. Dunn, "Psychological Needs and Source Linkages in Undergraduate Information- Seeking Behavior: A Factor Anayltic and Multiple Correlation Study (Ph.D . diss ., Univ. of South- ern Calif., 1984).