Information Seeking & Value Change in Online Learning

1. Information Seeking & Value Change in Online Learning Robert F. Brooks Doctoral Candidate Florida State University

2. Post-Decisional Dissonance* • What-Have-I-Done Syndrome • Chosen Something Unpleasant • Rejected Something Pleasant • Motivated to Minimize Dissonance • Increase Desirability of Chosen • Decrease Desirability of Un-chosen *Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford: Stanford University Press

3. Reducing Dissonance • Seek Consonant Information • Increase Value of Chosen

4. Research Questions • Change in value of distance learning? • Change in information-seeking behavior?

5. Methodology • Pilot Study • IS Master’s Degree at FSU • 30 Students out of 40 in Summer 98 • 68-Item Online Questionnaire • 5-Point Likert Scale • Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

8. Discussion • Enrollees’ Remorse • Increase Desirability of DL • Seek Information about DL • Dissonance Reduction Activities • Provide Information After Enrollment • Provide Interaction Opportunities

9. Future Research • Larger Sample (Normal Distribution) • Longitudinal Study • Value-Behavior Relationship • Opinion Leaders • Identification • Role • Forms of Information