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VISUAL SEARCH FOR SUCCESSIVE DECISIONS
Author(s) -
MACKWORTH N. H.,
MACKWORTH J. F.
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1958.tb00659.x
Subject(s) - relation (database) , psychology , information display , computer science , data mining , computer graphics (images)
When a situation provides information from many different independent sources, characteristic difficulties arise, even when the decisions required are of the simplest possible kind and do not require estimates of probability. This paper considers the effect of the amount of material in the display which must be searched for the correct answer, and also how this display load interacts with the speed at which decisions are required, in a situation where successive decisions are posed at approximately equal temporal intervals. It is shown that the percentage of errors is proportional both to the required speed and to the display load, and it is concluded that the time required to search through a display depends on the amount of material in the display, when this unwanted material closely resembles the required answer. In the discussion, the effects of many different sources of information in a moving display are considered in relation to two distinct variables: (1) the display load, and (2) the temporal irregularity of successive decisions.