The Cognitive and Visual Burden Project
TASK
To understand how cognitive and visual burden of website on Internet viewers influences their memory for and attitude towards advertisements embedded in the website.
PROCEDURE
I conducted two experiments examining two types of burdens - cognitive burden (the need to remember information) and visual burden (the need to detect objects). I created a small gaming website with help of my colleague and placed ads beside the games. When participants played the game, their peripheral vision landed on the ads. Below are examples of the games.
FINDINGS
Results suggested that cognitive burden improved memory for brand promoted in the ads; but visual burden reduced ad/brand memory and ad attitude. The reverse pattern implied that the nature of burden (cognitive vs. visual) of Web tasks can lead to sharply different ad effectiveness outcome.