BEYOND ATTENTION AND EMOTION: RECONSIDERING NEUROMARKETING EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH COGNITIVE LOAD AND NEURODIVERGENCE

Abstract

Most neuromarketing research assumes that stronger stimuli produce better consumer outcomes, but that assumption deserves closer scrutiny. This study examines whether neuromarketing stimuli operate uniformly across consumers or whether their effectiveness depends on how those stimuli are cognitively processed. Drawing on the stimulus organism response framework and cognitive load theory, we develop conditional model connecting neuromarketing stimuli to attention, emotional engagement, cognitive load, and purchase intention. A quantitative approach was used, collecting survey data from 412 digital consumers in Malaysia and analysing the data through structural equation modelling. The results confirm that neuromarketing stimuli increase both attention and emotional engagement, each of which raises purchase intention. At the same time, the same stimuli generate cognitive load, which substantially reduces purchase intention. Neurodivergence intensifies this negative relationship, meaning that consumers with atypical cognitive profiles face a disproportionate burden in cognitively demanding marketing environments. These findings directly reframe the standard logic of neuromarketing design. Effectiveness is not a function of stimulus intensity alone; it depends on how well the marketing environment accommodates different cognitive capacities. Practitioners and researchers alike should treat cognitive inclusivity as a design criterion, not merely an afterthought.