The Effects of Data Density, Display Organization, and Stress on Search Performance: An Eye Tracking Study of Clutter

Display clutter can cause breakdowns in visual search performance, which can compromise system safety and efficiency. The differential contributions of the two main aspects of clutter—data density and display organization—to these breakdowns are not well understood. Moreover, it is not clear how these factors interact with stress, another factor that can degrade performance in data-rich domains. The aim of this study was to ascertain the effects of data density, display organization, and stress on visual search performance and associated eye movements (obtained via eye tracking). To this end, participants performed visual search tasks in a simulated graphics program. Data density (number of icons), organization (grouping of icons), and stress (presence of a time limit) were manipulated. Response time (RT), error rate, eye tracking data, and subjective ratings of clutter and stress were collected. Results confirmed that high data density and poor organization increase RT and error rate. Furthermore, poor organization worsened the effects of high data density on RT. Stress did not negatively affect performance but significantly decreased RT. Eye tracking metrics provided insight into the effects of the two clutter aspects and stress. In particular, these metrics helped explain how changes in attention allocation resulted in the observed performance effects of long RT and high error rate. The results of this research can be used to inform the design of data-rich displays and trigger display adaptations in real time.

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