The Invisible Gorilla: More Dangerous Digitally Than on Paper!

In light of accelerating digitalization trends, this study critically examines whether this digital turn might increase the prevalence of cognitive biases, such as inattentional blindness or the halo effect, that are detrimental to the quality of work. We use an experimental design that mimics a realistic sales cut-off test to ascertain if auditors make more mistakes when working digitally. In addition to classic dates and amount mistakes, some invoices were issued by "Gorilla Corporation," a different company from the one being audited, which should have been a red flag for fraud. Auditors working digitally were approximately twice as likely to miss the red flag, failing to notice it in about 41% of cases. Eye tracking showed that even auditors who missed the fraud looked directly at the area where the incorrect company name appeared, for more than a second on average, which offers a strong indication of inattentional blindness. The results also offer evidence of a halo effect, though it did not differ between paper and digital conditions. This article is among the first to explore the impact of current digitalization trends on the quality of work. The results raise pertinent cautions: digitalization is not without peril and can endanger quality of work through an increasing prevalence of cognitive biases. Reverting to paper is both unlikely and undesirable, so this study offers potential solutions, including using nudges to reduce the risk of inattentional blindness in digital work.