Cognitive feedback in environments characterized by irrelevant information

Research in human information processing demonstrates that the presence of irrelevant information has an adverse effect on the quality of decisions. Decision makers are unable to identify and separate the effect of irrelevant information, thereby reducing the quality of decisions. The propensity to overutilize irrelevant information is significant because present day work environments are increasingly rich in information. This study examines the comparative efficacies of two types of information--cognitive feedback and outcome feedback--in identifying irrelevant information and thereby improving decision quality. Outcome feedback is information on the accuracy of a decision. Cognitive feedback is information on the how and why underlying the accuracy. The results show that subjects provided with cognitive feedback attained significantly better identification of irrelevant information than those relying solely on outcome feedback. The use of cognitive feedback also resulted in greater accuracy and cognitive control. We discuss the implications of the results for designing decision support systems and for research in decision aiding.