It’s Not Me, It’s You: Breaking Up with ICT to Cope with Techno-Unreliability. A Proposed fMRI Experiment

This study will investigate the neural correlates associated with the transactional process of technostress. Specifically, we will focus on the automatic and implicit processes of the primary appraisal process of techno-unreliability in the form of delayed system response time (SRT) and system breakdown, as well as the neural activation pattern of the strain experienced as a result hereof, leading to the secondary appraisal process of coping responses (e.g., attentional and behavioral (dis)engagement) with (dis)continued use of information and communication technology (ICT) as a potential outcome; all in the specific context of a consumer decision making process facilitated by ICT using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). With this proposed research we aim to contribute to the current technostress literature by providing new insights on the neural correlates of technostress, specifically the primary and secondary appraisal processes.