Written by In the realm of online user experiences, culture’s impact on information design and usability has often been overlooked, even though studies have shown its relevance to user preferences and performance.
Communication researchers seek to shed light on this crucial aspect and explore whether users navigate and prefer websites created by designers from their own cultural backgrounds.
This study proposed to enhance computer-mediated communication by acknowledging and accommodating the diverse cognitive styles that arise from different cultural influences.
East Asian cultures have been associated with holistic cognitive styles, while Western cultures tend to exhibit more analytical cognitive approaches.
Leveraging this contrast, researchers put forth the concept of “cultural cognitive design,” which delves into how cognitive styles shaped by culture lead to distinct ways of organizing and designing information for the web.
Cultures Use the Internet Differently
Studies in information technology have uncovered a correlation between culture’s influence on cognitive styles and individuals’ information-seeking behavior online.
Cognitive Styles & Online Learning – A representative study by Chen and Macredie (2002) highlighted how cognitive style impacts online learning, revealing that users with different cognitive preferences exhibit varying learning inclinations when navigating hypermedia systems.
Graff et al. (2004) also examined how individual differences in cognitive styles are significantly linked to nationality, urging the design of online learning modules to consider the impact of learning styles on attitudes.
Communication Technology & Social Relationships – Lin’s (2003) mediated communication model emphasized the integral role of communication technology in shaping the social relationships of its users.
Further, Chau et al. (2002) presented a four-factor model based on the diverse online behaviors of cross-cultural users, demonstrating that Hong Kong users tend to use the Web for social communication more frequently than US users.
These insights carry profound implications for site designers who aim to cater to an international audience.
Creating web content for millions of global users necessitates careful organization that considers cultural differences.
Ultimately, a user-centered approach acknowledging cultural nuances becomes the key to delivering a rich and meaningful online experience for people worldwide.
The Experimental Study
In an experimental setting, participants in the present study were asked to evaluate the quality of six different websites using a culturally influenced appraisal process.
This in-lab test seemingly evoked emotional responses from the participants due to the open-ended and qualitative nature of the research questions, allowing for deeper consideration compared to typical performance-based studies.
The participants’ reflections played a crucial role in cultural cognition, where affect became intertwined with attitudes, expectations, and motivations.
While long-established cultural traits shape cognitive processes, spontaneous emotional responses based on evolving values can rapidly alter behavior.
The in-lab experiment provided participants with time to reflect on their experience with the websites, leading to affective appraisals.
At the same time, an online experiment by Faiola & Matei (2005b) showed that participants from the same culture as the web designer completed tasks more quickly.
Introducing the influence of cultural preference triggered emotional processes of appraisal.
Additionally, the participants’ cognitive performance in the online experiment exhibited a strong relationship between web design and national origin.
The cultural preferences of the participants aligned with their developed cultural cognitive processes, indicating that emotional responses heavily influenced participant web preferences.
Interpreting the Results
The findings suggested that individuals with a holistic cognitive style tend to adopt a global approach to learning and organizing information, identifying clear interrelationships among topics during the discovery process.
Chinese designers, for instance, may create implicit relationships between different parts of a web menu system.
On the other hand, individuals with an analytic cognitive style, like Americans, emphasize the division of information into hierarchical categories, keeping most information hidden within the hierarchy.
These cognitive patterns, influenced by cultural styles, significantly impact content design.
By embracing cultural diversity in information design, the online user experience can be enriched, and developers can foster more inclusive digital environments.
Success Across Cultures 