The effect of navigation display clutter on performance and attention allocation in presentation- and simulator-based...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Automotive Engineering

Background:

• Display clutter can negatively affect user performance and attention.
• Environmental factors like workload and stress can influence these effects.
• The impact of display clutter may vary depending on the experimental setup.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate how display clutter affects driver performance and attention allocation.
• To compare these effects across two distinct experimental paradigms: a static presentation and a dynamic driving simulator.
• To understand the role of the experimental context in mediating the impact of display clutter.

Main Methods:

• Forty-two participants engaged in information search tasks using high- and low-clutter in-car navigation displays.
• Experiments were conducted in two conditions: a static, presentation-based setup and a dynamic driving simulator.
• Performance and attention allocation were measured in response to varying levels of display clutter.

Main Results:

• Display clutter significantly altered attention allocation and degraded performance in the static presentation experiment.
• In contrast, display clutter had minimal to no impact on driver performance or attention allocation within the driving simulator.
• The findings indicate a differential effect of display clutter based on the experimental paradigm.

Conclusions:

• The detrimental effects of display clutter on performance and attention are more pronounced in tasks demanding sustained focus on the display.
• When a cluttered display serves as a secondary support tool, its impact on primary task performance is less significant.
• Contextual factors, particularly the nature of attention required, are critical in determining the consequences of display clutter.