Searching for Alternatives: Does Your Disposition Matter?

Literature Review

This research builds on the vast tradition of human-computer interaction. Within the framework of Zhang and Li’s human-computer interaction model (Zhang & Li, 2005), this research explores elements from all five components of the interaction model (Figure 1). At the center of the model, individuals use the system by selecting alternative solutions to a problem. Interacting with system usage are four components; the technology, human factors, the task, and the context. For the technology, we were interested in search technologies. The human factors includes three motivational dispositions that show promise for impacting the selection of alternatives - self-regulatory focus, regulatory reference, and trusting disposition. Two tasks were observed in two related contexts; 1) searching for a product on an online auction marketplace and 2) searching for information on an apartment rating website. We explore these components in Figure 1.