Graphical Information Processing: The Effects of Proximity Compatibility

Abstract

The Proximity Compatibility Hypothesis (PCH) proposes that in designing displays, we should try to match the proximity (unity or similarity) of a display's components to the level of mental integration required of information represented by those components. Thus, for tasks demanding integration of information from several channels, we should display the task-relevant information in a perceptually unitary and homogeneous fashion. For tasks requiring independent processing of multiple information sources, unity and homogeneity should be minimized. The present study tested these predictions using thirteen bivariate graphs that varied in terms of the unity and homogeneity of dimensional pairings. 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 a task that combined both integration and independent processing demands. As predicted by the PCH, subjects performed the more integrative tasks better when using graphs that contained homogeneous elements combined into a single object. When less integrative tasks were performed, multi-object displays were associated with superior performance. However, the PCH failed to predict an interaction between the effects of object integration and homogeneity for the two integration tasks. While homogeneous object displays were used efficiently for both tasks, the benefits of heterogeneous object displays were specific to the task requiring logical rather than computational integration.