Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience

Visual stimulus can drive immediate appropriate actions. This is evident in digital communications. People spend less than 2 seconds viewing a visual content on their screen before moving to the next. Even the click-through-rates of these communications, for example, a display ad is abysmally low at 0.46%. Hence, there is a need for creating effective call-to-action visual communication. This study takes the scenario of e-commerce to develop the theory of final seconds of decision making. First, key elements in the composition of visual communication in the form of product tile are identified for the brand. Then timelines and neurological stages in comprehending the elements are elaborated. The identified elements are category need, emotional motifs, and brand fitness indicator. These elements drive the shift from one stage to another in the final seconds of decision-making process. Stages being approach /avoidance within the first 300-450ms, proceeding to liking followed by ‘wanting’ from 350-1450ms finally leading to an action by 1.7-1.8s. Breaking down the final seconds that matter, allows us to understand the speed at which the stimulus is comprehended, diverse neurological processes involved when comprehending an action-oriented visual stimulus and the construction of an optimal visual stimulus.