Where was my mind?: The role of perceptual load on mind wandering and consumer memory for advertising content
In the modern world, consumers often engage in multiple tasks at the same time in the hope of effectively managing their time, increasing the palatability of boring tasks, or to achieve several goals simultaneously. Most studies in multitasking show that when people perform two tasks simultaneously, one or both tasks can be delayed or impaired (Pashler 1994). In some cases, however, performing an undemanding secondary task can actually increase one’s attention to information that is relevant to the primary task by preventing one’s mind from wandering, which is known to consume a significant amount of cognitive resources when it occurs (Smallwood et al. 2003). As a result, mind wandering could lead to interference with the processing of an advertising message. This dissertation explores the relationship between multitasking, mind wandering and the ways different characteristics of a secondary task  cognitive or perceptual  affect memory for ad content. It shows how performing low perceptual-load secondary tasks (e.g., doodling, playing a simple computer game) can decrease mind wandering and increase memory for an advertisement, whereas cognitive-load tasks decrease memory about the advertisement. Six studies demonstrate when mind wandering occurs and how perceptual and cognitive load secondary tasks can influence mind wandering and memory for the ad content. Overall, this dissertation applies load theory from cognitive psychology to explain and expand our understanding of consumer behavior and the development of marketing practices.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign