A Pilot Cross-Cultural Comparative Study on Users' Perception of the Webpage: With the Focus on Cognitive Style of Chinese and French

Based on Nisbett and his colleagues' theoretical model "Holistic" and "Analytic" which show the differences in cognitive style of Eastern Asian and Westerners, the author hypothesized that the differences in cognitive style of people from diverse cultural backgrounds may influence their perception and usage of webpage. An experiment was carried out and the Eye-gaze device was used to assist to explore the relationship. The results revealed the relationship between cognitive style and webpage design. different cognitive style results different viewing pattern on webpage. Chinese people are more likely to have a holistic view of the whole page first and then focus on detail, while French people tend to read the heading information first and then proceeding down the page. Chinese emphasized the background as well as the whole look and feel of the webpage more, while French noticed the independent contents and element designs more on the webpage.