Graphical Information Processing: The Effect of Proximity Compatibility
Carswell, Catherine Melody
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69714
Description
Title
Graphical Information Processing: The Effect of Proximity Compatibility
Author(s)
Carswell, Catherine Melody
Issue Date
1988
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Wickens, Christopher D.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Experimental
Abstract
The proximity compatibility hypothesis specifies that human performance in information integration tasks will be enhanced by the use of high proximity displays. Alternatively, low proximity displays should enhance performance when several sources of information must be used in a nonintegrative or independent manner. The present research tested this hypothesis using thirteen bivariate graphs that varied along two possible measures of display proximity-dimensional homogeneity and object proximity. All thirteen graphs were used to perform four tasks, with a different group of fifteen subjects performing each task. These tasks included two integration tasks, an independent processing task, and one task that combined both independent processing and integration demands.
The predictions of the proximity compatibility hypothesis were generally accurate. When subjects performed the more integrative tasks, performance was best with graphs that contained homogeneous elements combined in a single object. When less integrative tasks were performed, heterogeneous multi-object graphs tended to be superior to high proximity formats. An interaction between the effects of object proximity and homogeneity for the two integration tasks was also obtained. While homogeneous object displays were used efficiently for both tasks, the benefits of heterogeneous object displays were specific to only one task.
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