Time stress and the processing of visual displays

Selecting the appropriate display format for time-constrained tasks is the focus of the research presented in this paper. The effect of time stress on operator performance was assessed by manipulating the time available to process the display. Twenty people were trained as operators and instructed to identify the state of a system using either a digital display or a polygon display. Participants were required to reach a prespecified criterion in training and were then tested under time-constrained conditions. Time constraints were set at 100%, 50%, and 25% of each person's mean unpaced response times obtained during training. Results showed that response to the time constrained conditions was significantly affected by uncertainty and the type of display format. Discussion focuses on the effects of time stress on performance and the selection of displays for time-constrained tasks.