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Around the Web with Cognitive Psychology

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Around the Web with Cognitive Psychology

Introduction
The scientific study of mental processes such as perception, attention, recollection, thinking,

problem-solving, and language is known as cognitive psychology. In today's world,

technological advances have significantly affected cognitive psychology, and it is fascinating to

observe how various media sources portray ideas associated with cognitive psychology. In this

study, an analysis of four different types of media will be conducted, focusing on how those

types of media relate to cognitive psychology concepts.

The sources include;

1. Adriatico, Jessa Mae, Angela Cruz, Ryan Christopher Tiong, and Clarissa Ruth

Racho-Sabugo. "An analysis on the impact of choice overload to consumer decision

paralysis." Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies 4, no. 1 (2022): 55-75.

2. . Carr, N. (2020). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains.

WW Norton & Company.

3. . Price, C. (2018). How to break up with your phone: The 30-day plan to

take back your life. Ten Speed Press.

4. . Sahr, N. (2021). Song/Casting: Combining Podcasts and Songs to Create a

Hybrid Medium (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University).

"An Analysis on the Impact of Choice Overload to Consumer Decision

Paralysis."

Description of the Article

In their article, Adriatico et al. examine how having too many choices can hinder a person's

decision-making skills (2022). The writers argue that providing customers with too many options
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can cause them to experience "decision paralysis" or the inability to settle on a single course of

action. This article presents the results of a study that looked into the link between having too

many choices and being paralyzed by indecision. A subset of Filipino shoppers was surveyed for

the research. During the study's data collection phase, a questionnaire was used to inquire about

respondents' decision-making processes, levels of option overload, and final selections.

Cognitive Psychology Concept

In cognitive psychology, having too many options is linked to focus and the capacity for

working memory. Attention is the mental process by which we select certain parts of our

environment to focus on while blocking out or disregarding other information. Working memory

is the amount of knowledge a person can store and manipulate in their mind for a short period.

The concept of "choice overload" is based on the notion that consumers' attention and working

memory are finite. According to this theory, consumers experience decision paralysis when faced

with too many choices because their attention and working memory become overwhelmed.

Relation to the Article

According to the findings of the research carried out by Adriatico and his colleagues,

providing customers with an excessive number of options can impair their ability to make sound

decisions (2022). According to the study's findings, when customers were given a greater

number of different choices, their levels of indecision increased. In addition, the research

findings demonstrated that individuals with decision paralysis had a lower likelihood of making

a purchase and required more time to select an option. According to these findings, customers'

attentional processes and working memory capacities play an important part in the decision-

making process.

New Information Learned

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An in-depth understanding of the mental procedures underpinning consumer behavior and

choice is stressed in an essay by Adriatico et al. This study's results support that customers'

decision-making processes are heavily influenced by their attention and working memory

capacities. Significant implications for marketers and businesses seeking to influence consumer

behavior stem from the study's additional finding that too many choices can lead to paralysis by

analysis. Businesses can benefit from a better understanding of the cognitive processes involved

in decision-making if they create strategies to alleviate option overload and improve decision-

making.

Broader Implications

The implications of the study outlined by Adriatico et al. (2022) extend far beyond classical

cognitive psychology. The findings of this research support the notion that having too many

options can make it difficult to make a decision, and they highlight the importance of one's

attention and working memory in making a final decision. This research has important

implications for marketing and business practices. It shows companies can affect customer

behavior by helping them make better decisions and cope with too many options. That's because

the findings suggest that businesses can influence consumer behavior by offering more

personalized options. This research lays the groundwork for future studies on the mental

processes involved in making choices and influencing customer behavior.

Takeaway Points

Insightful and useful information about the impact of option overload on consumers'

indecision is provided by Adriatico et al. (2022). The findings stress the significance of

investigating the mental procedures that underpin choice and customer behavior. Further, it

shows that companies can affect customer behavior by facilitating better decision-making and
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reducing consumers' overwhelming number of options. The study also has far-reaching

implications for the business because it paves the way for additional investigation into the mental

processes in consumer decision-making and behavior.

The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to Our Brains

Nicholas Carr explores how internet use affects people's brains in his book "The Shallows:

What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains." According to Carr, our increasingly frequent use of

technological media like the internet and television has shortened our attention spans and made it

harder to focus on complex tasks. This is because, as Carr argues, the internet's constant stream

of information makes it hard for us to focus on any one subject for very long.

Relevant to this study is the attention concept from cognitive psychology. Attention is the

mental and emotional state achieved by focusing on some aspects of one's environment while

ignoring others. According to Carr, our decreased ability to focus is largely due to our increased

internet use, which has led to a rise in distractions and a corresponding decline in attention span.

This is because it is becoming increasingly difficult to focus on one thing for an extended time

due to the continuous stream of new information and distractions presented to us by the medium

of the internet. Several studies are cited in this book to back up the claim that our incessant

internet use is impairing our concentration. Because of our growing dependence on the internet,

our reading habits and thought processes have changed, and this book explains why. According

to Carr, we've conditioned our brains to scan texts rather than carefully comprehend them

quickly. That, he claims, is to blame for the drop in the average American's reading

comprehension. This book has far-reaching implications for the field of cognitive psychology

due to the issues it raises about the impact of technology on our ability to think critically.

How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life
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One such guide is "How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your

Life," by self-help author Catherine Price. "The 30-Day Strategy to Take Back Your Life" is

subtitled "How to Break Up with Your Phone." The 30-day plan outlined in the book helps

readers overcome their dependence on their phones and take back charge of their lives.

This book discusses the concept of addiction, which is central to cognitive psychology.

Addiction is a complicated process that involves substantial changes to the brain's reward

system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that plays a part in the experience of

pleasure and reward, but its overproduction can lead to addiction. Price warns that being too

dependent on smartphones can seriously affect people's psyches.

The book describes how reliance on mobile gadgets can hinder productivity, rest, and social

lives. Price offers practical advice for kicking your smartphone habit, such as setting limits,

tracking your usage, and meditating. This book has broader implications for the cognitive

psychology field due to the issues it raises about the impact of modern technology on our mental

well-being.

Song/Casting: Combining Podcasts and Songs to Create a Hybrid Medium

Nadine Sahr's Ph.D. project, Song/Casting: Combining Podcasts and Songs to Create a Hybrid

Medium, is on this topic. It investigates what can happen when speech and music are joined to

produce a brand-new storytelling technique. As Sahr suggests, these two media types can be

merged to give the viewer a more interesting and immersive experience.

The key cognitive psychology idea guiding this research is the effect of sentiment on recall

and retention. How we feel, both favorably and negatively, significantly impacts how well we

can recall and learn new things. According to Sahr, including music in a podcast can help

viewers feel more emotionally connected to the narrative, enhancing their ability to remember
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and comprehend it. This is because music can elicit the necessary emotions to help us recall past

events. This dissertation shows results from earlier studies that support the idea that emotions are

important for storing and retrieving information.

This dissertation focuses on how adding musical elements to audio can create a more

captivating and fascinating listening experience. According to Sahr, the narration of a tale can be

made more engaging and memorable by including music. This is because viewers will feel more

connected to the narrator. This dissertation's study advances our knowledge of the role of

emotions in learning and memory and how they can be used to create more memorable and

engaging experiences with implications for general cognitive psychology.

Intriguing research into the possibility of a hybrid media form that combines live musical

performance and radio transmission can be found in Sahr's dissertation, Song/Casting. It explains

how emotions support memory formation and preservation and demonstrates how they can raise

the caliber of any experience. The problem of media-based learning and memory has been

improved by using emotional appeals to the audience's intelligence, a topic also covered in the

dissertation. Concerns have been raised about their potential future applications.
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References

Adriatico, Jessa Mae, Angela Cruz, Ryan Christopher Tiong, and Clarissa Ruth Racho-Sabugo.

"An analysis on the impact of choice overload to consumer decision paralysis." Journal of

Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies 4, no. 1 (2022): 55-75.

Carr, N. (2020). The shallows: What the Internet is doing to our brains. WW Norton &

Company.

Price, C. (2018). How to break up with your phone: The 30-day plan to take back your life. Ten

Speed Press.

Sahr, N. (2021). Song/Casting: Combining Podcasts and Songs to Create a Hybrid Medium

(Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University).