ABSTRACT
Advances in Information Technology (IT) have enabled faster, higher-level data processing, but they have also resulted in information overload and an insatiable ‘addiction’ to more information and connectivity among users. In this chapter, we describe the human brain and its workings in order to establish a foundation for concepts that we discuss at length in Chapter 3 (IT-related overload as a form of emotional and cognitive overload) and Chapter 4 (IT addiction). We describe the animated debate between behaviourists and cognitivists over the last two centuries. To frame this discussion, we introduce the concept of ‘supervenience’, which is critical for understanding the relationship between the mind and body as well as that between cognition and emotions. We also focus on brain structure, information processing, memory architecture, the interplay between emotions and cognition, and mindful decision-making related to technology usage.
