The Effect of Display Modality on Decision-Making with Uncertainty

This research compared visual (color), auditory (tone pitch), and tactile (vibration amplitude) displays of uncertainty in a threat avoidance task. Thirty participants used these displays to navigate through a simulated minefield, selecting paths that would minimize their chance of hitting a mine, while moving through the field as quickly and directly as possible. Results showed the participants in the visual condition to be the most conservative (safer but longer), while those in the auditory condition took the shortest (riskier) path. Interestingly, in terms of trial time, while all participants tended to improve their performance with respect to speed, participants in the tactile condition started out more slowly, but were similar in speed to the fastest, visual condition, by the end of the trials.

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