The Perceptual Interaction of Graphical Attributes in Thirteen Bivariate Displays

Abstract : Thirteen bivariate graphical displays were used to perform the speeded classification tasks necessary to diagnose dimensional integrality configurality, and separability. The nine classification tasks were performed by a different group of nine subjects for each of the graphs. Results from 9 of the 13 graphs clearly fit the pattern indicative of integrality. Instead, graphs varied on a continuum from highly configural to separable displays. A principal components analysis was used to derive a composite measure of configurality, and this measure was found to be correlated with the homogeneity of the various graphs. Greater homogeneity among graphical attributes was associated with higher performance-based configurality scores. Keywords: Graphs; Emergent features; Object displays; Integral displays; Configural displays; Compatibility.

[1]  Lawrence C. Sager,et al.  Perception of wholes and of their component parts: some configural superiority effects. , 1977, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[2]  W. R. Garner,et al.  Operationism and the concept of perception. , 1956, Psychological review.

[3]  The Perceived Relations between Color, Direction, and Speed of Motion , 1986 .

[4]  Patricia W. Cheng,et al.  A psychophysical approach to dimensional separability , 1984, Cognitive Psychology.

[5]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Display Proximity in Multicue Information Integration: The Benefits of Boxes , 1988 .

[6]  James R. Pomerantz,et al.  Stimules configuration in selective attention tasks , 1973 .

[7]  Robert J. K. Jacob,et al.  The Face as a Data Display , 1976 .

[8]  C D Wickens,et al.  Processing of stimulus properties: evidence for dual-task integrality. , 1985, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[9]  W. R. Garner,et al.  Interaction of stimulus dimensions in concept and choice processes , 1976, Cognitive Psychology.

[10]  Gary L. Felfoldy.  Repetition effects in choice reaction time to multidimensional stimuli , 1974 .

[11]  William W. Banks,et al.  Performance-based evaluation of graphic displays for nuclear power plant control rooms , 1982, CHI '82.

[12]  W. Cleveland,et al.  Graphical Perception: Theory, Experimentation, and Application to the Development of Graphical Methods , 1984 .

[13]  J H Siegel,et al.  Pattern and process in the evolution of human septic shock. , 1971, Surgery.

[14]  Patricia M. Jones,et al.  The Display of Multivariate Information: An Experimental Study of an Information Integration Task , 1990 .

[15]  A Treisman,et al.  Perceptual objects and the cost of filtering , 1983, Perception & psychophysics.

[16]  I. Biederman,et al.  Processing redundant information , 1970 .

[17]  R McGill,et al.  Graphical Perception and Graphical Methods for Analyzing Scientific Data , 1985, Science.

[18]  A. Treisman,et al.  Emergent features, attention, and object perception. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[19]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  COMPUTER GRAPHICS AS DECISION AIDS: DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH* , 1984 .

[20]  Spectrum Staff.  Too much, too soon: Information overload: As designers strive to build more powerful hardware and software systems, the risk is that the complexity will overwhelm humans who use them , 1987, IEEE Spectrum.

[21]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Information integration and the object display An interaction of task demands and display superiority , 1987 .

[22]  Arthur F. Kramer,et al.  Display Format and the Perception of Numerical Data , 1986 .

[23]  J. Duncan.  Selective attention and the organization of visual information. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[24]  J. R. Pomerantz,et al.  Grouping by proximity: Selective attention measures , 1975 .

[25]  David Woods,et al.  An Evaluation of Nuclear Power Plant Safety Parameter Display Systems , 1981 .

[26]  E. Anderson.  A SEMIGRAPHICAL METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX PROBLEMS. , 1957, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[27]  Christopher D. Wickens,et al.  Proximity Compatibility and the Object Display , 1988 .

[28]  G R Lockhead,et al.  Classifying intergral stimuli. , 1977, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[29]  W. R. Garner,et al.  The Stimulus in Information Processing , 1970 .

[30]  W. R. Garner,et al.  Integrality of stimulus dimensions in various types of information processing , 1970 .