The Seven Deadly Tensions of Health-Related Human Information Behavior

Introduction Wilson (2000, p. 49) defined information behavior as "the totality of human behavior in relation to sources and channels of information, including both active and passive information seeking and information use." A compelling feature of research on human information behavior (HIB) is that it stands at the intersection of so many important theoretical and policy issues such as the converging trends surrounding globalization and the 'flattening' of our world; the increasing complexity and blurring of boundaries represented by new organizational forms; the world of personalized medicine; and the intersection of technology and of human performance. These trends heighten the importance of tensions surrounding HIB. So, for example, organizations are designed to promote ignorance so that individuals can increase their understanding of particular issues through specialization. This essay seeks to explore in detail tensions surrounding seven common findings revealed in several books that extensively review the information seeking literature relating to: interpersonal communication, accessibility, level of skill, individual preferences, psychological limits, inertia, and costs (Case, 2012; Johnson, 1996, 1997; Johnson & Case, 2012). We need to deliberately confront the dilemmas and paradoxes embedded in these seven tensions if we are to accomplish our goal of informing the public. Tensions: Dilemmas and Paradoxes Tensions are a ubiquitous feature of social life. They are manifested in a number of particular forms: contradictory logics, competing demands, clashes of ideas, dialectics, irony, paradoxes, and/or dilemmas (Cooren, Matte, Benoit-Barne, & Brummans, 2013). These tensions reveal contradictory and/or inconsistent qualities, statements that seem absurd but which may be true in fact. They stimulate us to deeper thought and a desire for resolution that needs to be approached deliberately. Dilemmas often represent a choice between equally balanced alternatives, each with associated costs and benefits, predicaments that seemingly defy a satisfactory resolution, often presented in either/or terms (Westenholz, 1993). We will explore tensions related to HIB to uncover their significance for the development of theory and policy. Often our larger, normative cultural understandings prevent us from comprehending the true balance needed and the costs and benefits of potential resolutions of dilemmas. Indeed, our incomplete understanding can lead us to suggest resolutions that do not recognize the reality that some tensions are inherently paradoxical. Paradoxes are statements contrary to received opinion; seemingly contradictory statements that may nevertheless be true. "Paradox is the simultaneous existence of two inconsistent states, such as that between innovation and efficiency, collaboration and competition, or new and old" (Eisenhardt, 2000, p. 703). While paradoxes reveal seemingly contradictory elements of HIB, dilemmas often reveal contrasting forces that may represent opposing ends of an underlying continuum. They often entail either/or situations where one alternative must be selected, but they can also be paradoxical when options are contradictory and linked in such a way that any choice will only be a temporary one since tensions will resurface (Smith & Lewis, 2011). The Seven Tensions Here we examine seven common findings, or empirical generalizations that reveal often deadly, or at least problematic, tensions that develop in HIB (see Table 1). These findings are distilled from reviews of over two thousand articles focusing on information seeking research drawn primarily from the disciplines of library and information science, communication, organizational theory, and health (Case, 2012; Johnson, 1996, 1997; Johnson & Case, 2012). Interpersonal Communication Face-to-face, interpersonal communication is the preferred mode of communication for information seeking. …