Mobile Search Inflates Decision Confidence
Prof. Yunlu YIN
Associate Professor of Marketing, School of Management, Fudan University
Date: 25 October 2024 (Friday)
Time: 09:00 – 10:30
Venue: E22-G004
Host: Prof. Hongchuan SHEN, Assistant Professor in Business Intelligence and Analytics
Abstract
Consumers’ everyday decisions heavily rely on information searches conducted via their mobile phones. This research investigates how information searches using mobile apps (hereafter, mobile search) may exert a spillover effect on consumers’ metacognition and influence their decision confidence in their subsequent tasks. We theorize that mobile search enhances users’ self-efficacy, which subsequently leads to increased, illusory confidence in their follow-up decisions. Four studies, including three well-controlled lab experiments and the data analysis of 8,231,736 active users of a mobile financial application, demonstrate the causal behavioral consequence of the effect under various decision contexts as well as its underlying psychological mechanism. Our findings suggest that both users and managers should be mindful of how the use of mobile phone may have unintended consequences on human metacognition and decision-making, particularly in contexts involving financial or social welfare outcomes.
Speaker
Prof. Yunlu Yin is an associate professor of marketing at the School of Management, Fudan University. He received his PhD in marketing from The University of Hong Kong. By employing interdisciplinary methodologies, including lab and field experiments, empirical analysis of large-scale digital trace data, and neuro-cognitive tools, his research focuses on 1) cognitive underpinnings of sensory and media marketing, and 2) biological drivers of consumption. His research appears in a diverse range of journals, such as Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, eLife, Neuroimage, among others. He was awarded several grants including the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Shanghai Pujiang Program, and Shanghai Lingjun Program.
All are welcome!
