How People Deploy Dimensional Information to Estimate Relative Values

A high quality decision-making requires accurate estimations of relative values. When one estimates relative values relying on visual stimuli, perceptual bias may weaken the accuracy and bring about risks. This research explores how people estimate relative values heuristically using visual cues with different dimensional information, i.e., linear, areal and volumetric information. We conduct experiments to empirically testify the influences of dimensional information on perceptual biases. First, we confirm the conspicuity of areal information. When instructed to estimate rates exclusively relying on either linear or volumetric information, people would inevitably be influenced by the corresponding rates determined by areal information. Second, we provide evidences that visual cues implying depth would lead to overestimates. This research provides implications for designers to enhance the power of visual persuasions, and for users to improve their decision making quality.