Fred D. Davis

How Product Decision Characteristics Interact to Influence Cognitive Load: An Exploratory Study

The objective of this laboratory experiment was to explore how product decision characteristics interact to influence the decision-maker’s cognitive load. A between-subject experiment with 23 participants was performed to test how four decision characteristics (Decision set size, Attribute value format, Display format, and Information sorting) interact to influence participants’ cognitive load. Eye-tracking was used to assess cognitive load. Results indicate that the four product decision characteristics interact to influence cognitive load. We found, for example, that as the decision set size increased, the influence of attribute value format, display format, and information sorting on cognitive load varied. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.

Knowledge Production in Cognitive Neuroscience: Tests of Association, Necessity, and Sufficiency

While all domains in neuroscience might be relevant for NeuroIS research to some degree, the field of cognitive neuroscience has been identified as the major reference discipline (e.g., Dimoka et al. 2011).

Appendix A: Review of Empirical NeuroIS Literature

To identify empirical NeuroIS papers published in peer-reviewed journals, we searched for articles via WEB OF KNOWLEDGESM (June 30, 2015). Specifically, we searched for “NeuroIS” based on the constraint .

Appendix C: Conceptual Description of Basic Brain Functioning from a Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective

Throughout the history of cognitive neuroscience, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether a mental process (e.g., trust) is localized in a discrete brain region or whether it is represented by a distributed network of brain regions.

Applying Knowledge of Brain Functionality Without Neuroscience Tools: Three Example Studies and Abstraction of the Underlying Logic

The main question addressed in this book is how IS scholars can apply neuroscience knowledge to advance IS research without necessarily using neuroscience tools.

Appendix B: Major Statements in the NeuroIS Literature on the Importance of Cognitive Neuroscience Knowledge Acquisition

In the following, we present major statements in the NeuroIS literature on the importance of becoming familiar with the neuroscience literature in a given study context and the application of neuroscience knowledge in IS research without necessarily using neuroscience tools.

Appendix D: Description of Background Information on Online Trust

First, two studies (Sidorova et al. 2008; Steininger et al. 2009) identified trust as one of the major topics in both North American and European IS research. Sidorova et al. (2008), investigating the intellectual core of the IS discipline, analyzed 1615 abstracts of articles published in three North American IS journals from 1985 to 2006, and found that trust is among the most important research topics in the time period 2002–2006, thereby demonstrating that the topic is up-to-date.

Notes on the Application of the Approach

Application of our approach implies identification, processing, and use of neuroscience knowledge. In particular, the IS researcher must acquire knowledge on the neural correlates of the constructs of his or her study.