How Does Information Overload Affect Consumers' Online Decision Process? An Event-Related Potentials Study.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Consumer Psychology
• E-commerce

Background:

• E-retailers offer vast information, but excessive amounts can overwhelm consumers.
• Information overload negatively impacts decision quality and consumer experience.
• Understanding the neural basis of information overload is crucial for e-commerce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying information overload in consumer decision-making.
• To examine the effects of high amount of information (HAI) versus low amount of information (LAI) on cognitive processes.
• To identify how information overload influences decision difficulty and potential regret.

Main Methods:

• Utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) to analyze neural activity during decision-making.
• Compared behavioral responses (decision time) under HAI and LAI conditions.
• Employed time-varying network analysis to explore dynamic brain activity patterns.

Main Results:

• Behavioral data indicated longer decision times under HAI conditions.
• Neurophysiological findings showed reduced attentional resources (lower P2 amplitudes) and increased decision difficulty (smaller P3 amplitudes) with HAI.
• An increased late positive component (LPC) suggested heightened decision regret in the HAI condition.

Conclusions:

• Information overload impairs consumer decision-making by reducing attention and increasing difficulty.
• Neural network analysis suggests continued information processing and comparison post-decision under overload.
• Findings provide neural evidence for the detrimental effects of information overload on consumer decisions and outcomes.