Effects of Cognitive Load on Trust

Abstract

Abstract : This project focused on the relationship between cognitive load and trust judgments, and the effect of cultural differences in the way trust judgments are made. A literature review is contained in the report, examining differences in cultures. Studies where participants verbal comments were recorded under different cognitive loads were conducted in Australia. Voice recordings were analyzed for factors such as word choice, pause frequency and duration to find evidence of change in trust behaviors under different cognitive load conditions. Future work is planned to conduct similar studies in the US and Malaysia for comparison to these results. Trust is found to be a critical element driving human behavior in both interpersonal and computer-based interactions. It has been realized as one of the most important factors in organizational behavior for all personal and/or computer-supported decision making and task performance (R. Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995; Schmorrow & Stanney, 2008). Trust is defined as one party s (or individual s) willingness to accept the vulnerabilities of actions or behavior of the other party based on the expectation that the other will perform the actions important to the trustor (Dunn & Schweitzer, 2005; R. C. Mayer & Davis, 1999; R. Mayer et al., 1995). Trustworthiness on the other hand is different from trust. Mayer et al. (R. Mayer et al., 1995) found three trustworthiness elements that influence the development of trust in interpersonal situations: ability, benevolence, and integrity. Thus far, only a few studies have looked at how different situational factors influence trust development as reflected in the relative salience of the three trustworthiness indicators. One dominant situational factor that may shape trust perceptions of an information source is culture. Similarly, little is known how cognitive load may affect the different trustworthiness factors during trust development and acquisition.