The conceptions of information needs of seven American and seven Swedish mechanics employed by a Swedish multinational machine industry are compared by using perspective text analysis to analyze their verbal responses to three open-ended questions concerning their need for work-related information. The structures embedded in the texts are visualized in three-dimensional cubic spaces, and the results are discussed with respect to their dimensionality, as well as to the phase spaces of the cognitive processes. Results indicate that the Swedish mechanics seem to subordinate themselves to the company and are unconcerned about obtaining information of a technical nature. The American workers, however, feel that their worth is insufficiently recognized and express a need for instruction to be provided by the company to facilitate their understanding of technical information. It is concluded that this divergence in information needs between the American and Swedish mechanics ought to have considerable effects on the information policy of the industry. (KM)