Human information-processing strategies and style

Abstract The interactions that take place between the human and artificial aspects of information–technology systems are basically cognitive. Research in cognitive psychology conducted over the past 30 years or so has demonstrated that people exhibit significant individual differences in the information–processing strategies that they adopt during problem solving and other decision making activities. The different strategies that have been observed are outlined and some ideas concerning the theoretical bases of these strategies are discussed together with the implications that such human characteristics have for the operation and design of man-machine systems.