Motivated Information Management Theory

Process for Information Seeker

The first phase in the information management process, according to TMIM, is the interpretation phase in which people assess their uncertainty about an issue. Individuals experience uncertainty when they feel that they cannot predict what will happen in a given situation or on a specific issue. Uncertainty discrepancy reflects the difference between the amount of uncertainty someone has about an important issue and the amount of uncertainty that person wants about the issue. The original version of the theory proposed that individuals' need for a balance between actual and desired states made it so that uncertainty discrepancy caused anxiety. Faced with a serious diagnosis, for example, a patient may feel anxiety from too much uncertainty about his or her condition, but knowing too much can create anxiety as well. The revised version of the theory, though, proposes that the discrepancy can create emotions other than anxiety, including anger, shame, or guilt, among others. Regardless, the emotion felt as a result of the uncertainty-discrepancy leads individuals to the evaluation phase, where they make assessments that determine whether to seek information or not.

The evaluation phase, in which the individual weighs whether or not to seek additional information, involves two general considerations. First, individuals ask themselves about the costs and benefits that come from seeking information about the issue (outcome assessments). Second, individuals decide whether they have the ability to gain the information needed to manage their uncertainty discrepancy (efficacy assessments). Feelings of efficacy generally translate to a sense that one is able to engage in the behavior or to accomplish the task at hand. The theory argues that individuals make three types of efficacy judgments related to information management: (1) Can I cope with what information I might discover (coping efficacy), (2) do I feel that I have the communication skills to competently seek the information from the target person (communication efficacy), and (3) will the target person be able and willing to give me information that will reduce my uncertainty discrepancy (target efficacy)? The theory argues that individuals' assessments of the rewards and costs of information seeking impact their efficacy judgments, but have little direct impact on their decision to seek information. In other words, TMIM assigns efficacy as the primary direct predictor of that decision.

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