Relationship between cognitive styles and users' task performance in two information systems

Studies have shown that cognitive styles have some impacts on user performance in various types of systems. The current study focused on the effects of cognitive styles on users' information-seeking task performance between an information visualization system and a generic information system. Thirty-two graduate students participated in a controlled laboratory experiment. Each of them completed an extended cognitive style analysis - wholistic analytic test (Extended CSA-WA test) on cognitive style, and then conducted eight information search tasks, four analytical and four aspectual, in one of two systems: a text-based system, Web of Science, or a visualization system called CiteSpace. Results demonstrated that users' cognitive styles showed effect on task performance. The Wholistic-Analytic (WA) ratio obtained from the CSA-WA test was shown to be significantly correlated with result correctness for analytical tasks. Users with lower WA ratios were also found to have significant lower result satisfaction for analytical tasks than for aspectual tasks. Also, we found significant system effect on users' search performance. These results indicate that cognitive style is an important factor affecting users' performance, so is system interface design. Research in both areas provides valuable indication for future information system design.