Heuristic Information Processing Research Articles

The effect of category‐specific temporal frame on temporal reframing of price

AbstractThis study explores the effects of temporal reframing of price (TRP), a strategy presenting the total cost of a product or service in smaller, segmented amounts (e.g., $1 per day rather than $365 in total), and its potential to intensify consumers' feelings of being misled, thereby negatively impacting their attitudes toward the product. While previous research has underscored the benefits of TRP, such as lowering perceived costs and enhancing perceived benefits through heuristic information processing, the current study, informed by theories of heuristic versus systematic processing and attribution theory, investigates whether TRP leads to increased feelings of manipulation by deviating from conventional category‐specific temporal frames of pricing. Through two experiments, we find that such deviations may prompt consumers to view TRP as manipulative, subsequently heightening feelings of being misled, especially at higher price levels, whereas lower price levels could diminish the scrutiny applied to marketers' intentions. Additionally, this study demonstrates that feelings of being misled mediate the relationship between the presentation of price information and product attitude, highlighting the potential risks of employing TRP strategies. The paper discusses optimal situations for implementing TRP, aiming to navigate its strategic use effectively.

Trust in media and processing of health information during the Covid-19 pandemic

Based on a nationwide survey of 938 American adults in 2020, this study analyzed systematic and heuristic information processing related to Covid-19. Results showed mainstream media use correlated with systematic processing, while partisan and social media use correlated with heuristic processing. Trust in mainstream media predicted systematic processing, whereas trust in partisan and social media predicted heuristic processing. Perceived importance of health issues was positively associated with systematic processing and negatively with heuristic processing. Perceived ability to find relevant health news positively predicted systematic processing. The findings underscore the complex interplay among media trust, media use, and individual perceptions in information processing during public health crises.

Emojis as heuristic cues: The multifaceted role of emojis in online service interactions

AbstractRecent technological advances have allowed businesses to adopt emojis when interacting with consumers. To gain in‐depth theoretical and managerial insight into this trend, five pre‐registered studies (1 field observation and four controlled experiments) indicate that emojis in digital communication work as heuristic cues that might have a differential effect depending on elaboration likelihood and outcome valence. Drawing on the Heuristic Information Processing and elaboration likelihood model, this research reveals that emojis can systematically influence consumers' elaboration. Findings indicate that low elaboration in positive encounters results in a positive heuristic cue boost (emojis improve customer evaluation). In turn, high elaboration on negative service outcomes makes the heuristic content relevant, such that positive (vs. negative) emojis will bring attention to and reinforce the interaction's positive (vs. negative) aspects. This research contributes to emerging studies on the role of emojis in digital communication.

Matching Crisis Event With Destination Response Strategy

A conceptual model is tested across four studies that examine how tourist destination crisis types (external/internal) impact the information processing mode (heuristic/systematic), internal state (empathy/animosity), and boycott intentions of tourists. The matching effect between destination crisis event type and response strategy (defensive/accommodative) are also examined. Results suggest that internally attributed destination crisis events may be more likely to lead to boycott, and tourists tend to employ a heuristic information processing mode for externally attributed crises but a systematic mode for internally attributed crises. The matching effect of destination crisis type with response strategy indicated that a defensive (accommodative) strategy may effectively weaken the negative effects of externally (internally) attributed crises. Discerning the nature and perceived causes of crisis events offers a means to pinpoint approaches for guiding response strategies to mitigate the likelihood of boycotts and inform effective strategies for handling a destination crisis.

Heuristic Information Processing as a Mediating Factor in the Process of Exposure to COVID-19 Vaccine Information and Misinformation Sharing on Social Media

ABSTRACT Social media use for risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable concerns about an overabundance of information, particularly misinformation. However, how exposure to COVID-19 information on social media can lead to subsequent misinformation sharing during the pandemic has received little research attention. This study adopted the social amplification of risk framework to delineate how exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information on social media can be associated with individuals’ misinformation sharing through heuristic information processing. The role of social media trust was also examined. Results from an online survey (N = 1488) of Chinese Internet users revealed that exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information on social media was associated with misinformation sharing, mediated by both affect heuristics (i.e., negative affect toward the COVID-19 pandemic in general) and availability heuristics (i.e., perceived misinformation availability). Importantly, both high and low levels of trust in social media strengthened the mediating associations. While a low level of trust strengthened the association between exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information on social media and the affect heuristics, a high level of trust strengthened its association with the availability heuristics, both of which were associated with misinformation sharing. Our findings suggest that heuristic information processing is essential in amplifying the spread of misinformation after exposure to risk information on social media. It is also suggested that individuals should maintain a middle level of trust in social media, being open while critical of risk information on social media.

The effects of authoritative source cue and argument strength of correction tweets on MMR vaccine-related misinformation credibility

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the joint effect of two core message elements – authoritative source and argument strength – in correction tweets to counter conspiratorial misinformation about the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Design/Method: An online experiment with US residents ( N = 404) was conducted in a 2 (authoritative correction sources: layperson vs US Centres for Disease Prevention and Control [CDC]) × 2 (correction argument strength: weak vs strong) design. Results: The results indicate that the correction employing strong arguments and a correction provided by the CDC heightened heuristic processing of the corrective information, which in turn increased the perceived credibility of the conspiratorial misinformation. The effect of the CDC correction on heuristic processing was heightened when it contained weak arguments. Notably, user-generated corrections with weak arguments reduced heuristic processing of the information and contributed to reducing the perceived credibility of the misinformation. Conclusion: Based on the findings, we argue that both communicator- and content-related cues jointly influence how audiences process corrective information. The current study discusses the potency of user-generated social media corrections to counter vaccine misinformation and provides practical implications for how user-generated social media correction can be utilised by health practitioners. Public health organisations should prioritise presenting corrective information in an easily understandable manner, using user-generated content that fosters a sense of connection and engagement with individuals.

Enhancing Cybersecurity: The Crucial Role of Self-Regulation, Information Processing, and Financial Knowledge in Combating Phishing Attacks

In today’s technologically advanced world, the escalating prevalence of phishing attacks necessitates an urgent exploration of effective countermeasures. This study delves into the crucial investigation of how self-regulation influences phishing susceptibility, while also examining the mediating role of information processing and the moderating influence of financial knowledge. A comprehensive survey was meticulously crafted, targeting 370 recent university graduates. The collected data underwent rigorous analysis using Hayes’ PROCESS macro, unveiling a mediated moderation model. The findings reveal that self-regulation does not directly predict phishing susceptibility. However, information processing, whether systematic or heuristic, significantly impacts phishing susceptibility. Additionally, information processing serves as a mediator, connecting self-regulation to phishing susceptibility. Notably, the interaction between systematic information processing and financial knowledge emerged as a significant determinant of phishing susceptibility. By establishing a comprehensive mediated moderation model, this study provides invaluable insights for individuals and organizations seeking to bolster their defenses against phishing attacks. Furthermore, it emphasizes the vital role of financial knowledge and employees’ heuristic information processing in mitigating cyber threats. This research serves as a crucial scientific contribution, offering compelling evidence that proactive management of contributing factors can effectively mitigate the escalating threats posed by phishing attacks.

Optimizing human-AI collaboration: Effects of motivation and accuracy information in AI-supported decision-making

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly support human decision-making in fields like medicine, management, and finance. However, such human-AI (HAI) collaboration is often less effective than AI systems alone. Moreover, efforts to make AI recommendations more transparent have failed to improve the decision quality of HAI collaborations. Based on dual process theories of cognition, we hypothesized that suboptimal HAI collaboration is partly due to heuristic information processing of humans, creating a trust imbalance towards the AI system. In an online experiment with 337 participants, we investigated motivation and accuracy information as potential factors to induce more deliberate elaboration of AI recommendations, and thus improve HAI collaboration. Participants worked on a simulated personnel selection task and received recommendations from a simulated AI system. Participants' motivation was varied through gamification, and accuracy information through additional information from the AI system. Results indicate that both motivation and accuracy information positively influenced HAI performance, but in different ways. While high motivation primarily increased humans’ use in high-quality recommendations only, accuracy information improved both the use of low- and high-quality recommendations. However, a combination of high motivation and accuracy information did not yield additional improvement of HAI performance.

The effects of CSR perceptions and agreements: applying the heuristic-systematic information processing model in CSR campaigns

ABSTRACT Although some scholars explored the heuristic-systematic information processing model in communication studies, little is known about how consumers’ CSR perceptions influence CSR information processing and how the different information process strategies can affect consumers’ purchase intentions. To address this research gap, this paper conducted an online survey to understand how consumers’ agreements on CSR can determine their information-processing modes and subsequently affect their purchase intentions. The results suggested that higher levels of consumer agreement were associated with both systematic and heuristic information processing modes. Additionally, this study found that the positive effect of consumers’ CSR agreements on purchase intention was mediated by the heuristic process, while an indirect effect involving the systematic process was not observed. Also, the moderated mediation model suggested that the indirect effects of consumers’ CSR agreements on purchase intentions through the heuristic process depended on intrinsic CSR attribution. The theoretical implications and practical contributions to CSR communication are discussed in detail.

Influence via Ethos: On the Persuasive Power of Reputation in Deliberation Online

Deliberation among individuals online plays a key role in shaping the opinions that drive votes, purchases, donations, and other critical offline behavior. Yet, the determinants of opinion change via persuasion in deliberation online remain largely unexplored. Our research examines the persuasive power of ethos—an individual’s “reputation”—using a seven-year panel of over a million debates from an argumentation platform containing explicit indicators of successful persuasion. We identify the causal effect of reputation on persuasion by constructing an instrument for reputation from a measure of past debate competition and by controlling for unstructured argument text using neural models of language in the double machine-learning framework. We find that an individual’s reputation significantly impacts their persuasion rate above and beyond the validity, strength, and presentation of their arguments. In our setting, we find that having 10 additional reputation points causes a 31% increase in the probability of successful persuasion over the platform average. We also find that the impact of reputation is moderated by characteristics of the argument content, in a manner consistent with heuristic information processing under cognitive overload. We discuss managerial implications for platforms that facilitate deliberative decision making for public and private organizations online. This paper was accepted by Anandhi Bharadwaj, information systems. Funding: This research was supported in part by the University of Wisconsin Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and by the Carnegie Mellon University Graduate Student Assembly and Provost’s Office. Computing support was provided in part by the Social Science Computing Cooperative at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Supplemental Material: Data and the online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4762 .

가상현실(VR) 패션 스토어 환경에서의 소비자 휴리스틱 정보처리과정의 구조모델

Background/Objectives: This study aims to estimate the structural model of consumer heuristic information processing in the context of virtual reality(VR) fashion store. Specific objectives are to identify underlying dimensions of mental imagery, to examine the effect of mental imagery on telepresence, and to predict consumer choice heuristic for purchasing fashion products in the VR store environment
 Methods: The VR store of fashion brand X was selected as a stimulus in the VR experiment. A self-administered questionnaire was developed to measure mental imagery, telepresence and choice heuristics. By online survey, a total of 319 usable responses was obtained from consumers (female=169, males=150) who were aged from 20 to 39 years old.
 Results: The mental imagery was consisted of three factors, such as elaboration, haptic imagery, and spatial imagery. Estimated structural model showed that the elaboration and spatial imagery had positive effects on telepresence. Also, the telepresence influenced choice heuristics(e.g., intuition based heuristic and experience based heuristic), suggesting the mediating effect of telepresence between mental imagery and choice heuristics for fashion products at the VR store.
 Conclusion/Implications: This study provides insights into understanding mechanism of information processing in the VR experience. Also, managerial implications were discussed for applications of VR technology into strategic retail management in the fashion markets.

How information processing and risk/benefit perception affect COVID-19 vaccination intention of users in online health communities.

To investigate the relationship among information processing, risk/benefit perception and the COVID-19 vaccination intention of OHCs users with the heuristic-systematic model (HSM). This study conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire via an online survey among Chinese adults. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to examine the research hypotheses. Systematic information processing positively influenced benefit perception, and heuristic information processing positively influenced risk perception. Benefit perception had a significant positive effect on users' vaccination intention. Risk perception had a negative impact on vaccination intention. Findings revealed that differences in information processing methods affect users' perceptions of risk and benefit, which decide their vaccination intention. Online health communities can provide more systematic cues and users should process information systematically to increase their perceived benefits, consequently increase their willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine.

Consistent and conflicting information in floods and bushfires impact risk information seeking, risk perceptions, and protective action intentions

A core challenge for emergency services agencies is encouraging people to take protective action in a noisy, information-rich environment. This challenge is heightened when the environment is filled with conflicting information. While investigations of conflicting information are prevalent in temporally distant health contexts such as smoking cessation, where the effects of the protective action (i.e., quitting) take years to be realised, studies have yet to examine the impact of conflicting information when the potential outcome of the protective action (e.g., saving your life) has greater temporal immediacy. In this study we compare how social cues (media, peers, commercial weather forecaster) and environmental cues (weather conditions) that are consistent/conflict with an emergency warning message, impact community risk information processing, risk perceptions, and protective action intentions. The research finds risk perception is higher and intention to undertake protective action and information sharing is more likely when there is consistency between the emergency warning message and the socio-environmental cues, whereas heuristic information processing, self-efficacy, and information seeking are more likely to occur in the presence of conflicting cues. The research moves beyond high-level discourse about conflicting information ‘causing confusion’ in the community to a more nuanced, empirical understanding of the complexities of conflicting information across multiple stages of the decision-making process, in a context with greater temporal immediacy for action. Practical suggestions are made for agencies managing conflicting information when the conflict comes from socio-environmental cues. Future research is warranted for replication and to test mitigation strategies for conflicting information.

Does restricted stock turn CEOs into risk-averse managers? Insights from the regulatory focus theory

Restricted stock awards carry upside and downside risks for CEOs. We follow a socio-cognitive perspective by suggesting that awards of restricted stock are viewed as potential gains or potential losses depending on each CEO's dominant regulatory focus. Regulatory focus, therefore, helps determine how a CEO responds to restricted stock awards. We also propose that the moderating effect of regulatory focus strengthens as firm complexity increases and as CEO tenure lengthens, because complexity and tenure both increase CEOs' reliance on heuristic information processing. Specifically, complexity restricts a CEO's cognitive capacity for thoughtful deliberation during decision making, and tenure affects a CEO's motivation to search for and process information thoroughly. We find general support for the hypotheses and discuss the implications of our findings for future research and practice.

Understanding the spread of COVID-19 misinformation on social media: The effects of topics and a political leader's nudge.

The spread of misinformation on social media has become a major societal issue during recent years. In this work, we used the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic as a case study to systematically investigate factors associated with the spread of multi‐topic misinformation related to one event on social media based on the heuristic‐systematic model. Among factors related to systematic processing of information, we discovered that the topics of a misinformation story matter, with conspiracy theories being the most likely to be retweeted. As for factors related to heuristic processing of information, such as when citizens look up to their leaders during such a crisis, our results demonstrated that behaviors of a political leader, former US President Donald J. Trump, may have nudged people's sharing of COVID‐19 misinformation. Outcomes of this study help social media platform and users better understand and prevent the spread of misinformation on social media.

Fear appeal cues to motivate users' security protection behaviors: an empirical test of heuristic cues to enhance risk communication

PurposeFirms continue to struggle with end users who do not follow recommended actions for safeguarding information security. Thus, the authors utilize insights gained from studies on heuristic processing of risk information to design cues in fear appeal messages more effectively so as to more strongly engender fear among users, which can in turn lead them to take protective actions toward information security. Specifically, four types of fear appeal cues are identified: numeric risk communication, social distance and goal framing in verbal risk communication and visual risk communication.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from protection motivation theory, the authors hypothesize that these fear appeal cues can engender fear among users to a greater extent. In addition, the authors hypothesize that users will perceive a higher level of severity and susceptibility when they perceive a large amount of fear. The research hypotheses were tested employing data collected through a laboratory experiment. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analyses were performed to analyze the data.FindingsThe study's results suggest that numeric and visual risk communication cues in security notices can significantly increase the amount of fear felt by users. In addition, social distance was found to marginally increase the amount of fear felt by users. However, unlike our expectation, goal framing was not found to increase the amount of fear when the other three types of fear appeal cues were also given in a security notice. It was also found that induced fear can increase the severity and susceptibility of threats as perceived by users.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on fear appeal cues designed to promote users' security protection behaviors. No prior study has designed security notices featuring the four different types of fear appeal cues and empirically tested the effectiveness of those cues in inducing fear among users. The findings suggest that the design of fear appeal cues can be improved by understanding individuals' heuristic processing of risk information, which can be subject to cognitive biases.

Creepy, but Persuasive: In a Virtual Consultation, Physician Bedside Manner, Rather than the Uncanny Valley, Predicts Adherence

Care for chronic disease requires patient adherence to treatment advice. Nonadherence worsens health outcomes and increases healthcare costs. When healthcare professionals are in short supply, a virtual physician could serve as a persuasive technology to promote adherence. However, acceptance of advice may be hampered by the uncanny valley effect—a feeling of eeriness elicited by human simulations. In a hypothetical virtual doctor consultation, 441 participants assumed the patient’s role. Variables from the stereotype content model and the heuristic–systematic model were used to predict adherence intention and behavior change. This 2 × 5 between-groups experiment manipulated the doctor’s bedside manner—either good or poor—and virtual depiction at five levels of realism. These independent variables were designed to manipulate the doctor’s level of warmth and eeriness. In hypothesis testing, depiction had a nonsignificant effect on adherence intention and diet and exercise change, even though the 3-D computer-animated versions of the doctor (i.e., animation, swapped, and bigeye) were perceived as eerier than the others (i.e., real and cartoon). The low-warmth, high-eeriness doctor prompted heuristic processing of information, while the high-warmth doctor prompted systematic processing. This pattern contradicts evidence reported in the persuasion literature. For the stereotype content model, a path analysis found that good bedside manner increased the doctor’s perceived warmth significantly, which indirectly increased physical activity. For the heuristic–systematic model, the doctor’s eeriness, measured in a pretest, had no significant effect on adherence intention and physical activity, while good bedside manner increased both significantly. Surprisingly, cognitive perspective-taking was a stronger predictor of change in physical activity than adherence intention. Although virtual characters can elicit the uncanny valley effect, their effect on adherence intention and physical activity was comparable to a video of a real person. This finding supports the development of virtual consultations.

Towards better understanding and narrowing of the science–practice gap: A practitioner-centered approach to management knowledge creation

The lack of mutual communication and collaboration between academic research and management practice, and the limited implementation of the research findings in strategic and tactical decision-making in practice settings, known as the science-practice ‘gap’, remains an essential issue in management research. We challenge the primary focus on academics for the possibilities of bridging the gap by arguing that the picture remains incomplete without a closer look at the positions, perceptions, and attitudes of practicing managers toward the joint production of relevant management knowledge. Based on the inductive, grounded theory approach, we conducted a qualitative study of 47 practicing managers with different organizational and functional responsibilities across various industry sectors. Although practitioners perceived practice-engaged research design and execution, relevant management research, and benefits from complementary knowledge as enablers of fruitful science-practice collaboration, our emerging findings revealed limited trust, limited cognition, coping strategies, and heuristic information processing to be important barriers for practitioners that hamper the collaboration process. Relying on the cognitive and information processing framework and theory of the conservation of resources, we aimed to explain the antecedent of (un)successful collaboration on the practitioners' side, thus extending our understanding of the scholarship of integration.

Exploring the Serial Position Effects of Online Consumer Reviews on Heuristic vs. Systematic Information Processing and Consumer Decision-Making

Online consumer reviews serve an important marketing function, as they provide useful consumer-generated product information that could help online shoppers evaluate a product for making a purchase decision. To capitalize on this consumer-driven marketing opportunity, a common practice among marketers, for example, is to display these reviews from “highest” to “lowest” ratings to strategically “guide” online shoppers to access and process these reviews. The current study examined how the serial position placement of online consumer reviews might influence the systematic and heuristic information processing style leading to product evaluation and purchase decision-making. Results showed that consumer reviews published in an ascending order of ratings led to more systematic information processing, which in turn was positively related to perceived review helpfulness. The opposite was true for the placement effects of consumer reviews on heuristic processing, and the relationship between heuristic processing and perceived review helpfulness. Consumers’ prior brand attitude had a positive association with systematic processing and perceived review helpfulness, in addition to a negative relationship with heuristic processing. While perceived review helpfulness and perceived e-commerce website credibility were positively associated with each other, the latter was similarly linked to consumer intentions to shop on the e-commerce website.

The effects of ad heuristic and systematic cues on consumer brand awareness and purchase intention: Investigating the bias effect of heuristic information processing

With growing numbers of digital users, social media advertising becomes a vital marketing channel for attracting and sustaining consumers. Drawing on the heuristic-systematic model, this research investigates the effects of advertisement systematic cues including ad informativeness and ad persuasiveness, and ad heuristic cue which is ad poster category on the consumer brand awareness, and the sequential effect on consumer purchase intention. An experimental design featuring two categories of ad poster, namely, firm and influencer, is created for empirical evidence collection. Results show that ad informativeness and ad persuasiveness contribute to greater consumer brand awareness and purchase intention. The poster category can positively bias the influence of ad informativeness, and firm poster outperforms the influencer poster when controlling the advertisement content the same. The findings demonstrate the co-occurrence of heuristic and systematic information processing in the social media advertising context. This research deepens current understanding of social media advertising and provides practical implications for marketers to capitalize on different ad posters according to advertisement informativeness and persuasiveness feature.