The effect of visual feedback types on the wait indicator interface of a mobile application

Abstract

This study examines the essential effects of visual feedback on users’ perceptions of time and on their evaluations of waiting time for a mobile application user interface. The two variables adopted in this experiment are wait indicator visual feedback and waiting time. Three types of visual feedback were used: bar indicator, pie indicator, and cartoon indicator. Three waiting times were used: 2 s, 5 s, and 10 s. This study was conducted based on the attentional-gate model of Zakay and Block to help investigate user time perceptions. The experiment of this study was a 3 × 3 mixed factorial design to measure the impact of the research variables on the users’ perceptions of waiting time, wait evaluations, and preferences. Results showed that the users’ time perceptions and wait evaluations were affected by the feedback types and waiting times, and the results are consistent with Vierordt's law and the attentional-gate model. Furthermore, there was a positive impact on the participants' preferences when they perceived a shorter waiting time. The cartoon type feedback can help reduce the perception of waiting time, but it does not necessarily improve user experience regarding short waiting time.