On human cognition and the design of information systems

For almost two decades, cognitive style has been employed as a factor in the explanation of human interaction with computer systems. However, previous findings based on its use have proven inconclusive. The experiment discussed here utilized 101 subjects who were presented with four tasks. Cognitive style was assessed for each subject, as were the cognitive processes utilized in each task solution. The results demonstrate the fallacy of using cognitive style to explain task-based performance and offer evidence suggesting that cognitive process may better explain differences in human performance across multiple tasks.