An individual differences approach in designing ontologies for efficient personalization

Abstract

This article discusses the potential role of cognitive individual differences in the context of designing ontologies for personalization on users' characteristics. The theoretical framework of the proposed approach is derived from the long tradition of psychometric testing, incorporating implications from the field of differential and cognitive psychology. The current state of the identification and systematization of mental abilities is depicted, with additional emphasis on the constructs of working memory and cognitive style, on which a proposed ontology is based upon. Also, a summary of previously conducted relevant empirical work is presented, providing support to the notion of introducing personalization into educational and commercial websites. To that end, the main argument of this work is that the enrichment of ontologies with cognitive factors may lead to efficient personalization and measurable benefits for users. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.