Hide and seek – the role of personality, sense of coherence and experiential information in hidden information needs
| Date | 22 October 2021 |
| Pages | 780-799 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2021-0124 |
| Published date | 22 October 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Jannica Heinström,Shahrokh Nikou,Eero Sormunen |
Hide and seek –the role of
personality, sense of coherence
and experiential information in
hidden information needs
Jannica Heinstr€
om
Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science,
Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
Shahrokh Nikou
Information Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics,
Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland and
Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, and
Eero Sormunen
Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences,
Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
Abstract
Purpose –The aim of this study is to assess the impact of personality traits and sense of coherence (SOC) on
concealing information needs out of shame. The study also investigates the link between concealed information
needs and the use of experiential information for psychological wellbeing.
Design/methodology/approach –A Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM)
approach is used to assess and analyse the proposed conceptual model, which is based on the responses of 412
upper secondary school students.
Findings –The findings reveal that personality traits not only have direct significant effects on concealing
information needs but that their effects are also mediated by SOC. The positive relationship between concealed
information needs and the use of experiential information is confirmed in the study.
Originality/value –This study is the first to show that personality and SOC influence concealing information
needs. Two pathways are found. Firstly, negative emotionality and a low SOC lead to a heightened sense of shame.
Secondly, introversion induces a more guarded behaviour. The study, moreover, quantitatively demonstrates a link
between concealed information needs and the use of experiential information for psychological wellbeing.
Keywords Concealed information needs, Shame, Personality traits, Sense of coherence, Experiential
information, Information poverty, Stigma
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The theory of information poverty states that shame and stigma sometimes make people
purposefully hide their information needs (Chatman, 2000). Shame is, therefore, a noteworthy
emotion in an information acquisition context that may lead to concealing information needs.
Concealed information needs have not, however, been widely investigated beyond studies of
information poverty, particularly not in the general population. This article will address this
research gap.
Studies of information poverty have demonstrated how marginalisation and other social
or socio-economic factors may lead to concealed information needs (e.g. Canning and
Buchanan, 2019). How individual differences play out in this context is less understood. As
people differ both in their proneness to feelings of shame (Tangney, 1991) and in their
JD
78,4
780
The study was part of the ARONI project funded by the Academy of Finland (Grant no. 285638).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 29 June 2021
Revised 8 September 2021
Accepted 15 September 2021
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 78 No. 4, 2022
pp. 780-799
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-06-2021-0124
openness to self-disclose (Loiacono, 2015), there is, however, reason to infer that individual
traits would influence the degree to which people hide their information needs out of shame.
Individual differences in information poverty have indeed been alluded to in previous
research (Ruthven et al., 2018;Yu, 2010;Yu et al., 2016). The present study will address the
role of individual differences by examining the effect of the five-factor model personality
traits (Costa and McCrae, 1992) and sense of coherence (hereinafter SOC) (Antonovsky, 1987)
on concealing information needs out of shame.
In today’s information landscape, concealment of information needs may potentially be
less consequential. Even secret information needs could be met online without ever being
exposed to the outside world. Today, whatever experience you are going through, and
however shameful you may find it, you are certain to find other people describing similar
personal situations online. Experiential information may, in fact, be particularly relevant to
concealed information needs as peers are often those who understand the experience best.
The relationship between concealed information needs and use of experiential information
has previously been demonstrated in qualitative research (Bronstein, 2014;Hasler et al., 2014;
Hamer, 2003;Lingel and Boyd, 2013;Veinot, 2010). The present study will investigate this
relationship through a quantitative approach.
To this end, the research questions guiding the study are as follows:
RQ1. Which, if any, of the five-factor model personality traits influence concealing
information needs out of shame?
RQ2. Does SOC influence concealing information needs out of shame, and if so, how?
RQ3. Are concealed information needs related to the use of experiential information for
psychological wellbeing? If so, how?
The study thereby makes a twofold contribution: (1) examining how personality traits and
SOC influence concealing information needs and (2) studying the relationship between
concealed information needs and the use of experiential information for psychological
wellbeing. Our study investigates both the direct effect of personality traits and SOC on
concealed information needs and the indirect effect of SOC as a mediator between personality
and concealed information needs.
2. Theoretical perspective
The theory of informationpoverty explains that people sometimes hide their information needs as
a self-protective mechanism (Chatman, 1996). Concealment of information needs occurs when
people are afraid of being judged by others. They, therefore, consider disclosing information
needs as too risky and expect negative consequences to outweigh the benefits. As a result, they
present a false reality to others and go to lengths to hide the condition of which they feel ashamed
(Chatman, 1996). Information poverty has been found among high security prisoners (Canning
and Buchanan, 2019), young mothers (Ruthven et al.,2018), HIV/AIDS patients (Veinot, 2009),
intimate partner violence survivors (Westbrook, 2008), Pacific Island immigrants to New Zealand
(Sligo and Jameson, 2000), extreme body-modificators (Lingel and Boyd, 2013),people with mental
health problems (Bronstein, 2014;Hasler et al.,2014;Lannin et al.,2016;Osiscovska et al., 2013),
gay men (Hamer, 2003) and economically poor groups (Spink and Cole, 2001).
Concealment of information needs may be driven by severalfactors, such as social norms
(Lingel and Boyd, 2013). One common mechanism behind concealed information needs is
feelingsof shame. Shame is an emotionwith a strong social component.People feel shame when
they sense thatthey cannot live up to social or moralstandards and fear that otherswill judge
them because of this (De Hoogeet al.,2018). Centralelements of shame are self-consciousness
(Weltenet al.,2012) and a sense of inferiority(Keltner and Harker, 1998). Peoplewho feel shame
fearnegative evaluation by othersand social judgement (Cibichet al., 2016). A common reaction
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