The Role of Information Processing for Product Perception

Continuous distraction and task switching between the primary activity and (digital) secondary tasks are one of the reasons why the attention span has significantly decreased in the past 15 years. Task switching requires continual reallocation of both attentional foci, which increases cognitive workload and results in reduced task performance. A research challenge in this regard is the development of user interfaces for (digital) products or services that make it easier to control and monitor technical systems. In the tradition of user interface or human–machine interaction research, the user is an abstraction for every person (potentially) interacting with a system. User-centered design, an approach to user interface design that involves users in every phase throughout the design and development process, acknowledges that users are different in terms of their skill set, their background knowledge, their willingness to use an interface, or their familiarity with technology. To further acknowledge human individuality in that form, a huge number of standards, rules, and guidelines have been proposed over time, and employed at different levels of design and domains of application. To better understand human memory operation, several models were developed and used to interpret decision making, reaction on external stimuli, and action refraining caused by the overlooking of information. This chapter explains the basics of human information processing, involving theories of measuring information processing, situation awareness and attention, and human memory. The aim of this chapter is to provide a basic understanding of the human information processing chain and how this knowledge can be used by product developers and brand designers to improve the perception of products or the attachment to a brand. It further provides a link to the next chapter, which discusses the potential of information perceived beneath the conscious level.