This study examined the effect of varying the amount of information that is presented in either an alphanumeric or iconic display and its effect on how efficiently a pilot can utilize the data. The results from 12 subjects, under self-paced presentation length conditions, indicated that for a small quantity of data (2 or 4 bits) there is no difference in response times between iconic and alphanumeric displays. As the quantity of data presented increases (8, 16, or 32 bits), subjects perform better using iconic displays.
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