Cognitive Stopping Rules in a New Online Reality

Abstract

This research is a conceptual replication of a study by Browne, Pitts, and Wetherbe (2007) that explores information stopping rules in an online search context. Information stopping rules consider the cognitive reasons decision makers determine when enough information is collected to make a decision. Previous research outlines five stopping rules decision makers use and applies them in different decision context. The original research considers three information search tasks (search for a television, map, and job) and hypothesizes the relationship between structure of the task and the stopping rule employed. This research replicates that study in a new information environment with new search methodologies and technology. We find that structured tasks use similar stopping rules to the original study; however further analysis shows distinct differences in the nature of the two tasks presented. Poorly structured tasks potentially involve the use of different stopping rules than previously determined. The updated findings suggest information systems used for poorly structured search tasks might also benefit from highlighting the uniqueness of information in order to encourage a user to continue searching for information.