Proximity Compatibility and Information Display: The Effects of Space and Color on the Analysis of Aircraft Stall Conditions.

摘要

The proximity compatibility principle (Wickens, 1987) asserts that when a task requires the integration of multiple sources of information, performance will be best supported when that information is displayed in close proximity. Conversely, when a task requires attention to be focused on a specific source of information, performance will be best supported by a more separated display. To assess the validity of this principle, a series of three experiments were conducted in which subjects monitored a display of flight parameters critical to aircraft stability and were required to either predict the likelihood of an aircraft stall (information integration) or to recall the value of a single flight parameter (focused attention). Display proximity of relevant information was imposed through spatial closeness and color similarity. The results indicate that color adheres to the proximity compatibility principle, but that space does not. Instead, the spatial proximity between relevant and irrelevant information appears to be the dominant factor affecting performance across both tasks. The data are discussed in terms of their practical implications for multi-element display design. Keywords: Visual perception psychology; Man machine systems; Human factors engineering/compatibility; Data displays; Color displays; Clutter; Spatial distributions; Pilots attention; Aviation; Spacial organization; Information processing. (EDC)