How Dimensional and Semantic Attributes of Visual Sign Influence Relative Value Estimation

Abstract

High-quality decision making requires accurate estimation of relative values. The perceptual bias when estimating relative values displayed by a visual sign may weaken the accuracy and cause misjudgment. This research explores the heuristic estimation of relative values using visual cues, namely linear, areal, and volumetric information. We conduct experiments to empirically test the influences of dimensional information on perceptual biases. First, we investigate the conspicuity of areal information. Our experiments indicate that the responses of participants instructed to estimate rates defined by either linear or volumetric information are biased by the corresponding rates determined by areal information. Second, visual cues implying three-dimensional information (e.g., depth) can lead to overestimation. Third, we probe the influence of vividness as the boundary condition on relative value estimation. Empirical evidence on perceptual bias sheds light on the pragmatics of visual signs, helps suggest guidelines for visual persuasions, and improves decision-making quality.