Web designers and providers are keenly interested in determining the ideal range of Web site complexity to facilitate user–Web site interactions. Previous empirical findings have sparked a lively debate about whether Web site complexity inhibits or enhances user responses toward the Web site. This paper develops a theoretical framework that posits that complexity effects shift along a sequence of evaluation criteria depending on the overall intensity and type of Web site complexity. The first experimental study confirms the suggested interaction effect of the overall degree of complexity and the sequence of evaluation criteria: the optimum is lower for upstream criteria (e.g., ease of navigation) and higher for downstream criteria (e.g., attitude toward the Web site). The second experiment distinguishes two dimensions of complexity (structural vs. visual) that evoke the antipodal effects underlying the shift in the optimal range of complexity. The paper also outlines avenues for further research and implications for marketing practitioners.

Ontogenetic samples of endocranial volumes (EVs) from great apes and humans are critical for understanding the evolution of the brain growth pattern in the hominin lineage. However, high quality ontogenetic data are scarce, especially for nonhuman primates. Here, we provide original data derived from an osteological collection of a wild population of Pan troglodytes verus from the Taï Forest National Park, Ivory Coast. This sample is unique, because age, sex, and pedigree information are available for many specimens from behavioral observations in the wild. We scanned crania of all 30 immature specimens and 13 adult individuals using high-resolution computed tomography. We then created virtual casts of the bony braincase (endocasts) to measure EVs. We also measured cranial length, width, and height and attempted to relate cranial distances to EV via regression analysis. Our data are consistent with previous studies. The only neonate in the sample has an EV of 127 cm(3) or 34% of the adult mean. EV increases rapidly during early ontogeny. The average adult EV in this sample is 378.7 ± 30.1 cm(3) . We found sexual dimorphism in adults; males seem to be already larger than females before adult EV is attained. Regressions on cranial width and multiple regression provide better estimates for EV than regressions on cranial length or height. Increasing the sample size and compiling more high quality ontogenetic data of EV will help to reconcile ongoing discussions about the evolution of hominin brain growth.

No abstract

The present study analyses how online users react to an increase of complexity of corporate websites. Two pretests and a main study are conducted. A first pretest with 80 subjects validates the distinction between a 'high-complexity' and a 'low-complexity' version of a website, which are then used as stimulus material in the main study. A second pretest with 116 respondents confirms a chain of website effects (ease of navigation, focused attention, enjoyment, attitude towards the website, etc.) that can be applied as criteria to evaluate the impact of website complexity. The main study was conducted as an online experiment with 109 participants. As expected, it is shown that the effects of complexity are ambivalent. On the one hand, website complexity fosters users' experience of flow and a positive attitude towards the website. On the other hand, users find it more difficult to navigate on a more complex website.

Humor preferences depend on the cultural background of the respondents. Designers of international advertising campaigns thus need to know how to adapt ads to the target market. The present paper runs two studies to test (1) whether marketers actually adapt the type of humor to the culture of the target market and (2) whether different types of humor elicit different effects in different cultures. Both studies use the example of Germany and Spain for cross-cultural comparisons. Study 1 analyzes 418 Spanish and 748 German print advertisements. The results indicate that marketers apply humor in Spain more frequently than in Germany. The type of humor differs across the two countries: Comic wit which builds on incongruent elements is more frequent in Germany (low-context, individualistic, masculine culture) than in Spain (high-context, collectivistic, feminine culture) while Spanish ads contain more sentimental humor. This humor type transports warmly messages without including incongruent messages. Study 2 examines whether the cultural dimensions of individualism and femininity affect attitude towards sentimental humor ads and sentimental comedy ads. The latter type of humor combines warm elements with the principle of incongruityresolution. The study shows that Spanish respondents rate sentimental humor significantly more positive than German respondents. In contrast, German subjects evaluate sentimental comedy most positive. Implications for managers and future research are derived.