Type,Extent and Coding of Updated Symbolic Information

Abstract

This study concerned how information extraction and assimilation from dynamic visual displays are affected by three amounts of information presented (12, 18, or 24 units), three types of updating changes (“Adding”, “Moving,“ or “Removing“ units), three extents of changes (2, 4, or 6 units), and three ways of indicating updates (double-cue coding, single-cue coding and history hard copy.). Subjects were presented successive pairs of slides with the second slide containing the updates. Speed and accuracy of extracing and assimilating the updated information were recorded. It was found that: 1) Double-cue improved extraction 97%; assimilation 57%. 2) Single-cue coding improved extraction 68%, assimilation 47%. 3) Hard copy history did not aid extraction; improved assimilation only slightly. 4) Increasing the amount of information and extent of change degraded extraction and assimilation. 5) For assimilation, double-cue coding nullified the degrading effects of increasing amount of information. 6) In both tasks, the “Removed“ condition was easiest, “Added“ next, and the “Moved“ condition most difficult. Results indicate that major performance improvement can be achieved through coding without use of relatively costly color techniques.