Age and Gender Differences in the Pseudo-Haptic Effect on Computer Mouse Operation in a Desktop Environment

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Perception Science
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Pseudo-haptics offers tactile sensations without physical hardware.
• Individual variability in pseudo-haptic effects is significant but poorly understood.
• Identifying factors influencing these differences is crucial for personalized applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age and gender as factors influencing pseudo-haptic effects.
• To establish a foundational calibration method for individual pseudo-haptic differences.
• To explore the relationship between pseudo-haptics, mouse interaction, and sensory perception.

Main Methods:

• An online experiment involving over 400 participants.
• Participants performed a virtual object lifting task using a mouse pointer.
• Data collected on pseudo-haptic effects, user age, gender, mouse usage, and sensory accuracy.

Main Results:

• Pseudo-haptic effects were more pronounced in younger and male participants.
• Higher mouse habituation and better visual/proprioceptive pointer localization correlated with stronger pseudo-haptic effects.
• Age and gender differences in pseudo-haptics were explained by these usage and sensory factors.

Conclusions:

• Age and gender significantly modulate pseudo-haptic perception.
• Mouse usage frequency and sensory detection accuracy are key determinants of individual pseudo-haptic response.
• Findings provide insights for calibrating pseudo-haptic systems to account for user-specific factors.