Characteristics of human perception and their relevance when studying information behaviour

Research in allied disciplines suggests that failing to notice information that is actually present in the environment is not an exception but rather to be expected. The specific characteristics of human bodies along with the cognitive and perceptual systems that have co-evolved with these bodies are such that humans perceive only a fraction of the information that is potentially perceivable. There are many reasons for that including, but not limited to, the body's "being in the world" and the physical movements that are involved in any kind of information behavior and that both enable and constrain what one can perceive. The information that is perceived may or may not include information that is relevant to a task at hand. In this article, we summarize some of the relevant research conducted in allied disciplines and argue that information behaviour research needs to find ways to address the human characteristics that imply that a) subjects are likely to fail to recognize information that is present in an environment and potentially relevant to a task at hand and b) subjects would not be able to report on the fact that they failed to recognize the information. We also discuss as to how information behaviour research can address the aforementioned challenges resulting from human movement and perception.