Individual Differences in Processing Strategy for a Bargraph Display

Abstract

The bargraph has been described in several ways: as a separable display, as an integral display, and as a configural display with emergent features. The versatility of the bargraph may be in part due to the support it provides for different individual processing strategies. This research identifies two general types of strategies - holistic and analytic - which are developed by individuals to solve a classification problem on the bargraph. Multidimensional scaling (MDS), response times, and verbal reports are used to analyze individual strategies. Individuals who developed holistic strategies produced significantly faster reaction times, and reported simple, efficient strategies, with the emergent feature of bargraph shape as an important dimension. The results indicate that the bargraph provides perceptual features which can support several general types of processing strategy.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Buttigieg

M. A.

Sanderson

P. M.

(1991). Emergent features in visual display design for two types of failure detection tasks. Human Factors, 33(6), 631–651.

Carswell

C. M.

Wickens

C. D.

(1987). Information integration and the object display: An interaction of task demands and display superiority. Ergonomics, 30, 511–528.

Carswell

C. M.

Wickens

C. D.

(1990). The perceptual interaction of graphical attributes: Configurality, stimulus homogeneity, and object integration. Perception and Psychophysics, 47, 157–168.

Coury

B. G.

Boulette

M. D.

Smith

R. A.

(1989). Effect of uncertainty and diagnosticity on classification of multidimensional data with integral and separable displays of system status. Human Factors, 31(5), 551–569.

Coury

B. G.

Weiland

M. Z.

Cuqlock-Knopp

V. G.

(1992). Probing the mental models of system state categories with multidimensional scaling. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 36, 673–696.

Garner

W. R.

(1974). The processing of information and structure. New York: Wiley.

Pomerantz

J. R.

(1986). Visual Form Perception: An Overview. In Schwab

Nusbaum

(Eds.), Pattern Recognition by Humans and Machines: Visual Perception Vol. 2. Academic Press.

Sanderson

P. M.

Flach

J. M.

Buttigieg

M. A.

Casey

E. J.

(1989). Object displays do not always support better integrated task performance. Human Factors, 31(2), 183–189.

Visual Displays: A special issue. (1992). Human Factors, 34(5), 509–632.