this would mean he/she can concentrate on more tasks. This means he/she will
experience less IO than the person who can divide less attention among the tasks.
With the increase of information load, the demand on attentional resources also
increases. When a person has a low attention capacity and information load is high,
this person can get overload with information because he/she has to concentrate on
too much information originating from the many tasks. In this line of reasoning,
attention capacity determines the level of IO which a person experiences. The more
attention capacity a person has, the more information he/she can process, and thus
the less overloaded he/she will be with information.
Proposition 2 The more attention capacity a person has, the less information
overload he/she will perceive positively affecting organizational health.
It is assumed that both the working memory and the attention capacity have a
negative impact on individual IO. So, the higher the working memory capacity or
attention capacity, the lower IO will become. We propose attention capacity has a
more positive impact on individual IO than working memory capacity. When a
person has a high attention capacity, he/she can concentrate longer but not faster.
People having a high working memory can process the excess of information faster
because they can comprehend complex tasks faster. Given the fact that there is a time
constraint, decision-makers having a higher working memory compared to attention
capacity will experience less IO in a given time constraint than people having a
higher attention capacity compared to their working memory capacity. This results in
the following proposition:
Proposition 3 Decision-makers having a higher working memory compared to
attention capacity will experience less information overload than people having a
higher attention capacity compared to their working memory capacity.
2.4 Personality Characteristics
Social scientists assume that behaviour is a function of personality variables and that
to understand human behaviour, it is important to look at the personality characteristics of the human being. Three personality characteristics seem to be important: the
amount of information used, the decision focus and the attitude towards ambiguity.
These concepts are developed over a lifetime and can also change during one’s
lifetime. We propose that these characteristics have an impact on individual IO.
Information needs rise when people experience cognitive gaps. To bridge
these gaps, good, accessible information has to be sought. People who take decisions
based on a limited amount of information want just enough data to make an adequate
decision and want to save time. However, people who take decisions based on a
maximum amount of information want to process as much information as possible
before making a decision, and time is less important for them. There are several ways
to process information. The most obvious way is reading an information source. Let
166
G. van de Kaa
experience less IO than the person who can divide less attention among the tasks.
With the increase of information load, the demand on attentional resources also
increases. When a person has a low attention capacity and information load is high,
this person can get overload with information because he/she has to concentrate on
too much information originating from the many tasks. In this line of reasoning,
attention capacity determines the level of IO which a person experiences. The more
attention capacity a person has, the more information he/she can process, and thus
the less overloaded he/she will be with information.
Proposition 2 The more attention capacity a person has, the less information
overload he/she will perceive positively affecting organizational health.
It is assumed that both the working memory and the attention capacity have a
negative impact on individual IO. So, the higher the working memory capacity or
attention capacity, the lower IO will become. We propose attention capacity has a
more positive impact on individual IO than working memory capacity. When a
person has a high attention capacity, he/she can concentrate longer but not faster.
People having a high working memory can process the excess of information faster
because they can comprehend complex tasks faster. Given the fact that there is a time
constraint, decision-makers having a higher working memory compared to attention
capacity will experience less IO in a given time constraint than people having a
higher attention capacity compared to their working memory capacity. This results in
the following proposition:
Proposition 3 Decision-makers having a higher working memory compared to
attention capacity will experience less information overload than people having a
higher attention capacity compared to their working memory capacity.
2.4 Personality Characteristics
Social scientists assume that behaviour is a function of personality variables and that
to understand human behaviour, it is important to look at the personality characteristics of the human being. Three personality characteristics seem to be important: the
amount of information used, the decision focus and the attitude towards ambiguity.
These concepts are developed over a lifetime and can also change during one’s
lifetime. We propose that these characteristics have an impact on individual IO.
Information needs rise when people experience cognitive gaps. To bridge
these gaps, good, accessible information has to be sought. People who take decisions
based on a limited amount of information want just enough data to make an adequate
decision and want to save time. However, people who take decisions based on a
maximum amount of information want to process as much information as possible
before making a decision, and time is less important for them. There are several ways
to process information. The most obvious way is reading an information source. Let
166
G. van de Kaa