Technostress aus einer neurobiologischen Perspektive: Systemabsturz führt bei Computerbenutzern zu einem Anstieg des Stresshormons Kortisol

Both scientific research and anecdotal evidence indicate that human-computer interaction may lead to notable stress perceptions in users. This type of stress is referred to as technostress. So far, most studies used questionnaires to investigate technostress. In this article, we draw upon a different conceptual perspective, namely neurobiology, thereby adding a new theoretical lens to the technostress literature. We report on a laboratory experiment in which we investigated the effects of system breakdown on changes in users’ levels of cortisol, which is a major stress hormone in humans. The results of our study show that cortisol levels increase significantly as a consequence of system breakdown in a human-computer interaction task. In demonstrating this effect, our study has major implications for information and communication technology research, development, management, and health policy. We argue that future research investigating human-computer interactions should consider the neurobiological perspective as a valuable complement to traditional concepts.