The role of cognitive dissonance for QoE evaluation of multimedia services

In contrast to traditional QoS-based charging, charges for QoE (Quality of Experience) play a double role both as part of the evaluation context and as counterpart of the user's willingness-to-pay for service quality. To further investigate this link between pricing and QoE, we combine some unexpected results from empirical quality perception experiments with the socio-psychological theory of cognitive dissonance. With this approach, we are able to explain the influence of active user decisions on QoE. Moreover, economical implications, further research opportunities and practical advices for quality testing are presented.