Research on the Influence of User and Graphic–Text Combined Icon Construal Level Fitting on Visual Cognition

Abstract

Based on the individual traits of the user’s construal level differences, this study examines the visual cognition differences of graphic–text combined icon concreteness in the interface between users with high and low construal levels. We classified four types of graphic–text combined icons, which are as follows: concrete graphic + concrete text (Ci + Ct), concrete graphic + abstract text (Ci + At), abstract graphic + concrete text (Ai + Ct), and abstract graphic + abstract text (Ai + At). According to the behavioral experiment results, there is no visual cognitive difference between the two types of traits users in Ci + Ct. In terms of Ci + At and Ai + Ct, the visual cognitive performance of high construal level users is slightly better than that of low construal level users. In Ai + At, there are obvious visual cognitive differences between the two types of users. Visual cognitive fluency plays a mediating role in response time and matching rates of the two types of users. Based on the construal level perspective, this study considers the visual cognitive differences based on the user’s stable traits. It provides a certain reference for the graphic–text combined icons’ design in the adaptive human–computer interaction interface.