Abstract: ［Purpose/Significance］Investigating the influences of self-efficacy and task complexity on the emotion of collaborative information seeking users could provide some references to improve users’ information seeking experience, efficiency and the information seeking system.［Design/Methodology］With the use of the General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), users’ self-efficacy and emotion were studied. The effects of high and low self-efficacy, as well as the low, medium and high complexity tasks on collaborative information seeking users’ emotion were also explored.
［Findings/Conclusion］Self-efficacy has significant impact on positive emotion of collaborative information seeking users, while the impact on negative emotion is not obvious; Task complexity has no significant influence on positive or negative emotion of collaborative information seeking users.［Originality/Value］This study could provide reference for verifying the theoretical models of information behavior, understanding users’ information seeking behavior and improving promotion strategies of information seeking.

Key words: Collaborative information seeking, Users’ emotion, Self-efficacy, Task complexity, Positive emotion, Negative emotion