Study of use and perception of Internet information by young people with a field-dependent/field-independent cognitive style for decision making for sustainable development

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to learn the peculiarities of students’ information perception and behavior in the Internet with dependent and non-dependent cognitive styles. The sample consists of 120 students. We used the techniques: “Gottschaldt’s figures”, “Strategies of information behavior”, the technique of unfinished sentences that determined the attitude of respondents to the Internet. The Mann-Whitney difference criterion was applied. As a result, we identified field-independent students, for whom the Internet serves the purposes of communication, carries a positive charge and increases the circle of communication. Such students are characterized by a rejection of rudeness, of disrespect in information content and the value of protection, privacy. Field-dependent respondents note the accessibility, quick obtaining information and they have a pronounced search and peeping type of behavior in the Internet. For the field-dependent respondents, Internet information is used for entertainment, shopping. They note the overload of Internet content with Internet-content advertising, the drawn out communication and the fact that information is rather unreliable. Self-dependent respondents are more likely to show motivating informational behavior. Conclusions based on the results of the study are concentrated around the possibilities of using style characteristics in improving the effectiveness of student learning.