Star-Crossed Consumers: The Effects Of Online Rating Scale Length On Product Evaluations

Consumers’ ratings of products are ubiquitous in the online marketplace (e.g., Amazon; Yelp). The rating scales provided by online businesses typically comprise a set of stars that appear in the form of linear scales. Consumers looking to purchase a certain product likely rely on product ratings based on these rating scales. Although past research confirms the intuitive expectation that a higher star rating for a product elicits more favorable responses from consumers, there is a paucity of research related to effects of the properties of the scales themselves on consumers’ psychology. The literature on cognitive processing of information suggests that varying properties of scales might affect people’s processing of them and in turn their perceptions. Both 5-point and 10-point star-based rating scales, i.e., scales with a total of 5 and 10 stars respectively, are common in the online marketplace. Using relevant theories from the cognitive processing literature, this dissertation investigates whether the number of scale points in a rating scale affects consumers’ perceptions of product quality and their purchase intention. The results of three studies show that when a specific rating (e.g., 80%) is presented on a 10-point star-based scale (i.e., 8 out of 10 stars), perceptions of product quality and consumers’ intention to purchase the product are higher compared to when the same rating is presented on a 5-point scale (i.e., 4 out of 5 stars). Implications and limitations of this research are discussed, and directions for further research are provided

Markers of criticality in phase synchronization

The concept of the brain as a critical dynamical system is very attractive because systems close to criticality are thought to maximize their dynamic range of information processing and communication. To date, there have been two key experimental observations in support of this hypothesis: (i) neuronal avalanches with power law distribution of size and (ii) long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs) in the amplitude of neural oscillations. The case for how these maximize dynamic range of information processing and communication is still being made and because a significant substrate for information coding and transmission is neural synchrony it is of interest to link synchronization measures with those of criticality. We propose a framework for characterizing criticality in synchronization based on an analysis of the moment-to-moment fluctuations of phase synchrony in terms of the presence of LRTCs. This framework relies on an estimation of the rate of change of phase difference and a set of methods we have developed to detect LRTCs. We test this framework against two classical models of criticality (Ising and Kuramoto) and recently described variants of these models aimed to more closely represent human brain dynamics. From these simulations we determine the parameters at which these systems show evidence of LRTCs in phase synchronization. We demonstrate proof of principle by analysing pairs of human simultaneous EEG and EMG time series, suggesting that LRTCs of corticomuscular phase synchronization can be detected in the resting state and experimentally manipulated. The existence of LRTCs in fluctuations of phase synchronization suggests that these fluctuations are governed by non-local behavior, with all scales contributing to system behavior. This has important implications regarding the conditions under which one should expect to see LRTCs in phase synchronization. Specifically, brain resting states may exhibit LRTCs reflecting a state of readiness facilitating rapid task-dependent shifts toward and away from synchronous states that abolish LRTCs

The visual processing of text

The results of an investigation into the nature of the visual information obtained from pages of text and used in the visual processing of text during reading are reported. An initial investigation into the visual processing of text by applying a computational model of early vision (MIRAGE: Watt & Morgan, 1985; Watt, 1988) to pages of text (Computational Analysis 1) is shown to extract a range of features from a text image in the representation it delivers, which are organised across a range of spatial scales similar to those spanning human vision. The features the model extracts are capable of supporting a structured set of text processing tasks of the type required in reading. From the findings of this analysis, a series of psychophysical and computational studies are reported which exan-dne whether the type of information used in the human visual processing of text can be described by this modelled representation of information in text images. Using a novel technique to measure the 'visibility' of the information in text images, a second stage of investigation (Experiments 1-3) shows that information used to perform different text processing tasks of the type performed in reading is contained at different spatial scales of visual analysis. A second computational analysis of the information in text demonstrates how the spatial scale dependency of these text processing tasks can be accounted for by the model of early vision. In a third stage, two further experiments (Experiments 4-5) show how the pattern of text processing performance is determined by typographical parameters, and a third computational analysis of text demonstrates how changes in the pattern of text processing performance can be modelled by changes in the pattern of information represented by the model of vision. A fourth stage (Experiments 6-7 and Computational Analysis 4) examines the time-course of the visual processing of text. The experiments show how the duration required to reach a level of visual text processing performance varies as a function of typographical parameters, and comparison of these data with the model shows that this is consistent with a time-course of visual analysis based on a coarse-to-fine spatial scale of visual processing. A final experiment (Experiment 8) examines how reading performance varies with typographical parameters. It is shown how the pattern of reading performance and the pattern of visual text processing performance are related, and how the model of early vision might describe the visual processing of text in reading. The implications of these findings for theories of reading and theories of vision are finally discussed

The Organization of Local and Distant Functional Connectivity in the Human Brain

Information processing in the human brain arises from both interactions between adjacent areas and from distant projections that form distributed brain systems. Here we map interactions across different spatial scales by estimating the degree of intrinsic functional connectivity for the local (≤14 mm) neighborhood directly surrounding brain regions as contrasted with distant (>14 mm) interactions. The balance between local and distant functional interactions measured at rest forms a map that separates sensorimotor cortices from heteromodal association areas and further identifies regions that possess both high local and distant cortical-cortical interactions. Map estimates of network measures demonstrate that high local connectivity is most often associated with a high clustering coefficient, long path length, and low physical cost. Task performance changed the balance between local and distant functional coupling in a subset of regions, particularly, increasing local functional coupling in regions engaged by the task. The observed properties suggest that the brain has evolved a balance that optimizes information-processing efficiency across different classes of specialized areas as well as mechanisms to modulate coupling in support of dynamically changing processing demands. We discuss the implications of these observations and applications of the present method for exploring normal and atypical brain function.Psycholog

EVALUATION OF USABILITY OF MAPS OF DIFFERENT SCALES PRESENTED IN AN IN-CAR ROUTE GUIDANCE AND NAVIGATION SYSTEM

Noise from the information communication process produced by the interfaces of navigation systems has overloaded drivers' cognitive processing systems and increased the probability of traffic accidents. This work evaluates the usability of maps of different scales in a prototype route guidance and navigation system. The maps were designed on basic cartographic communication principles, such as perceptive grouping and figure-ground segregation, as well drivers’ requirements for performing a tactical task. Two different scales were adopted, 1:3,000 and 1:6,000, and the maps implemented in the prototype. A total of 52 subjects (26 males and 26 females) participated in an experiment performed in a driving simulator. The maps describe an urban route composed of 13 simple and complex maneuvers. The drivers’ mental workload was measured in terms of visual demand, navigational error and subjective preference. Results reveal that the usability of maps is influenced by map scale variation, and this is related to maneuver complexity. Also, an association between drivers’ visual demand and gender was found, and this was related to drivers’ spatial ability. More implications are presented and discussed

Culturally Antagonistic Memes and the Zika Virus: An Experimental Test

This paper examines a remedy for a defect in existing accounts of public risk perceptions. The accounts in question feature two dynamics: the affect heuristic, which emphasizes the impact of visceral feelings on information processing; and the cultural cognition thesis, which describes the tendency of individuals to form beliefs that reflect and reinforce their group commitments. The defect is the failure of these two dynamics, when combined, to explain the peculiar selectivity of public risk controversies: despite their intensity and disruptiveness, such controversies occur less frequently than the affect heuristic and the cultural cognition thesis seem to predict. To account for this aspect of public risk perceptions, the paper describes a model that adds the phenomenon of culturally antagonistic memes – argumentative tropes that fuse positions on risk with contested visions of the best life. Arising adventitiously, antagonistic memes transform affect and cultural cognition from consensus-generating, truth-convergent influences on information processing into conflictual, identity-protective ones. The paper supports this model with experimental results involving perceptions of the risk of the Zika virus: a general sample of US subjects, whose cultural orientations were measured with the Cultural Cognition Worldview Scales, formed polarized affective reactions when exposed to information that was pervaded with antagonistic memes linking Zika to global warming; when exposed to comparable information linking Zika to unlawful immigration, the opposing affective stances of the subjects flipped in direction. Normative and prescriptive implications of these results are discussed