Measuring Reflective Cognitive Capacity: A Methodological Recommendation for Accounting Research of Feedback Effects

Viator, Ralph E.; Bagley, Penelope L.; Barnes, Beau Grant; Harp, Nancy L.

doi:10.2308/bria-50803

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Audit researchers have proposed that NFC is relevant to auditor discovery of fraud (Hammersley 2011) and auditor performance in complex tasks (Griffith et al 2016) for reasons similar to those above. However, evidence is limited to demonstrations that NFC is associated with auditors' ethical judgments (Setiawan 2017) and successful use of feedback interventions (Viator et al 2014). Based on our framework, we expect that NFC is also associated with judgment quality in complex tasks.…”

Section: Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Complex Audit Judgments: A Framework and Evidence*†

Griffith

Kadous

Young

2021

Contemporary Accting Res

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Regulators and researchers provide evidence that auditors' judgment quality is problematic in complex audit tasks. We introduce a framework for improving auditor judgment in these tasks. The framework builds on dual‐process theory to recognize that high‐quality judgment in complex tasks requires that auditors (i) possess the knowledge needed for the task, (ii) recognize the need for analytical (versus heuristic) processing, and (iii) have sufficient cognitive capacity to complete the analytical processing. Based on the framework, we predict that auditors' need for cognition (NFC), a characteristic theoretically linked to recognizing the need for analytical processing, is associated with higher quality complex judgments. Analysis of 11 studies supports this assertion. We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework by predicting and finding that priming auditors with an accuracy goal improves judgments, particularly for lower NFC auditors, who are less likely to spontaneously engage in analytical processing. The framework facilitates systematic development of interventions to improve auditor judgment by highlighting that solutions should address the specific conditions causing judgment problems.

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Section: Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Complex Audit Judgments: A Framework and Evidence*†

Griffith

Kadous

Young

2021

Contemporary Accting Res

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“…We created a composite score by averaging the 15 items measuring NFC (Cronbach’s α = .85). We divided the participants into two groups based on having either a relatively high NFC score (above median score) or a relatively low NFC score (below median score), a processed used in other behavioral economics research (i.e., Viator et al , 2014).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The interaction effect of quantity and characteristics of accounting measures on performance evaluation

Hioki

Suematsu

Miya

2020

PAR

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Purpose This study aims to investigates the appropriate number and kinds of accounting measures managers should use in their decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply an experimental method with 54 participants who work for a utility company in Japan. Findings This study suggests that under information overload, in which many measures are handled simultaneously, managers who have a high Need for Cognition (NFC) can no longer use either financial or customer perspective measures effectively, while when there is no information overload, they can use those measures. Managers with low NFC do not use customer perspective measures even when information overload does not occur. Practical implications This study concludes that we need to pay careful attention to differences in managers’ NFC as well as how many and what kind of measures should be provided to managers when designing multi-measures for performance evaluation. Originality/value This paper sheds light on the relationships among the number of measures, the characteristics of measures, and managers’ cognitive style when designing a management accounting system.

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“…As a result, it can be stated that the current sample contains neither too many impulsive, nor too many reflective participants, since it contains more reflective participants compared to studies by Frederick (2005), Toplak et al (2011), andViator et al (2014), but more impulsive participants compared to those by Oechssler et al (2009), Hoppe andKusterer (2011), Alós-Ferrer andHügelschäfer (2016) and Barcellos et al (2016).…”

Section: Sample Representativenessmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The sample in this study contains more reflective participants compared to the original samples surveyed by Frederick (2005), Toplak et al (2011), andViator et al (2014). On the other hand, the current sample contains more impulsive participants compared to the samples surveyed by other studies, such as those by Oechssler et al (2009), Hoppe andKusterer (2011), andAlós-Ferrer andHügelschäfer (2016), who analyzed samples comprised of students who were given financial compensation (varying from EUR 0.20-5.00 per correct answer).…”

Section: Sample Representativenessmentioning

confidence: 90%