The Effect of Cognitive Load and Default Nudges on Decision‐Making: Experimental Evidence From a Behavioral Study

Mercede Erfanian, Luc Meunier () and Jean‐françois Gajewski ()
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Mercede Erfanian: ESSCA School of Management Lyon
Luc Meunier: ESSCA School of Management, Aix-en-Provence
Jean‐françois Gajewski: MAGELLAN - Laboratoire de Recherche Magellan - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Lyon, LARJE - Laboratoire de Recherches Juridique et Economique - UNC - Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

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Abstract: Cognitive overload can impair professional skepticism in high‐stakes contexts such as auditing. In these settings, sustaining professional skepticism is essential. Default nudges, or pre‐selected options, may offset these effects by reducing cognitive demands. We conducted an online pilot study followed by the main experiment to examine how cognitive load and default nudges influence professional skepticism in auditing decisions. A pilot study validated a dot memory task manipulation of cognitive load and identified low and high load conditions for the main experiment. The main experiment embedded this manipulation in the Phillips' audit task, used to measure professional skepticism in auditing. Results showed that cognitive load only slowed responses. However, default nudges accelerated responding and improved accuracy under load, but only when aligned with the most probable response; misaligned nudges reduced accuracy. These findings suggest that defaults act as conditional scaffolds under cognitive strain, supporting judgment and decision‐making in some contexts but introducing risks in others.

Keywords: OSF; Open Science Framework; Cognitive load; Decision- making; Default nudges; WM; working memory; TP; true positives; TN; true negatives; TBRS; Time-Based Resource-Sharing; SD; standard deviation; RT; reaction time; Professional skepticism; NL; no load; MATLAB; Matrix Laboratory; LL; low load; HL; high load; FP; false positives; FN; false negatives; DMT; dot memory task; BF; Bayes factor; ANOVA; analysis of variance; cognitive load | decision-making | default nudges | professional skepticism | working memory ACQ; attention check question; cognitive load | decision-making | default nudges | professional skepticism | working memory ACQ; attention check question ANOVA; analysis of variance BF; Bayes factor DMT; dot memory task FN; false negatives FP; false positives HL; high load LL; low load MATLAB; Matrix Laboratory NL; no load OSF; Open Science Framework RT; reaction time SD; standard deviation TBRS; Time-Based Resource-Sharing TN; true negatives TP; true positives WM; working memory; Working memory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-26
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Published in Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 2026, 39 (2), ⟨10.1002/bdm.70081⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-05598850

DOI: 10.1002/bdm.70081

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