Cognitive load and its impact on usage of email applications

Abstract: The shift from analogue to digital data has been a trend the last couple of decades. One reason for such a switch is the ease and effectiveness with which it can be stored and spread. Among the most common methods people use to spread their data today is by e-mail and therefore, the goal should be to decrease the cognitive load when utilizing e-mail services. The main hypothesis of this thesis is that a prototype of an e-mail application designed to induce lower levels of cognitive load to its users is more time effective and less mentally demanding than one of its market counterparts; Gmail. Male and female participants with the age group 18-40 (N=21) performed five different tasks on both the prototype and the Gmail application. These tasks were accompanied by a dual-task, which was to tap their finger(s) rhythmically with their non-dominant hand on a metal plate to induce further cognitive load. The result showed that the tasks were more mentally demanding and frustrating when using the Gmail application compared to the prototype. The results showed that the execution time for five out of five tasks where longer when using the Gmail application compared to when using the prototype, but only three out of five had a statistically significant difference in time.