Thinking style, browsing primes and hypermedia navigation

Authors:
Lorenzo Fiorina;Alessandro Antonietti;Barbara Colombo;Annella Bartolomeo
Affiliations:
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy;Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy;Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy;Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy
Venue:
Computers & Education
Year:
2007

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Abstract

There is a common assumption that hypermedia navigation is influenced by a learner's style of thinking, so people who are inclined to apply sequential and analytical strategies (left-thinkers) are thought to browse hypermedia in a linear way, whereas those who prefer holistic and intuitive strategies (right-thinkers) tend towards non-linear paths. An experiment was conducted to study both the effects of students' style of thinking on hypermedia navigation and the effects of primes aimed at inducing them to browse the hypermedia according to a given strategy. Two hundred undergraduates in different faculties were asked to visit a website. Navigation was preceded by some initial tasks (primes) that activated either the left- or the right-thinking style; 50 men and 50 women were randomly assigned to each of the two kinds of primes. Then participants were free to browse the hypermedia and navigational paths were tracked down. When navigation had been completed, a questionnaire measuring a preference for either the left- or the right-thinking style was filled out by participants. Analyses showed that primes influenced hypermedia navigation, leading participants to apply strategies consistent with the initial tasks. The participants' age and faculty did not influence their behaviour in navigation. Gender and frequency of computer use determined some minor differences in hypermedia browsing, whereas there was no evidence of any relationship between thinking style and behaviour in navigation.