Emotional correlates of information retrieval behaviors

Abstract

There is an emergent interest in the use of emotion data to improve information retrieval processes. Our study examined whether the knowledge of searchers' emotions can be used to predict their actions (and vise versa). We investigated associations between information retrieval behaviors (e.g., examination of search results) and patterns of emotional expressions around those behaviors, and found that individual search behaviors were associated with the certain types of emotional expressions. The findings can inform classification of emotions and search behaviors, and in turn lead to the development of affect-sensitive retrieval systems.