Abstract
The objective of this investigation was to experimentally evaluate possible relationships among personality types, selected psychometric factors, and categories of cognitive activity, with an intent to develop user behavioral models fo interface design. Twenty subjects (10 novice and 10 experienced) participated in an interactive scheduling task with two levels of task complexity. The task involved navigation through ten action alternatives, with each alternative bein represented by a screen, to allocate resources. The subjects were administered with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tests and a battery of psychometric tests. Cognitive time, total number of menu selections, total number of assignments, and the distribution of cognitive time into intelligence, design and choice activities were the performance measures. Variables derived from measurements of personality traits and psychometric factors were evaluated as predictive measures of performance. The personality trait for sensing/knowing was significant in predicting overall performance, as were psychometric factors for induction, integrative processing, and spatial scanning. The personality trait of extrovert/introvert was found to be significant in predicting the distribution of screen use times, as were derived factors for locus of control, memory ability, and personality. These results can form the basis for examining the usefulness of personality types and psychometric factors as variables in models of user characteristics.
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