Mind Drifts, Data Shifts: Utilizing Mind Wandering to Track the Evolution of User Experience with Data Visualizations

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Information Visualization

Background:

• Traditional user experience (UX) assessments for data visualization rely on post-viewing self-reports, which fail to capture dynamic cognitive processes during interaction.
• Mind wandering, characterized by spontaneous shifts in attention, is a prevalent cognitive phenomenon during task engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate mind wandering as a dynamic measure of user experience during data visualization exploration.
• To understand the relationship between mind wandering, visualization characteristics, and post-viewing UX metrics.

Main Methods:

• Participants explored visualizations and self-reported mind wandering in real-time.
• Post-viewing assessments included quantitative ratings (trust, engagement, design quality) and qualitative feedback.
• Short-term and long-term recall were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Mind wandering was found to negatively correlate with short-term visualization recall and post-viewing UX measures, especially for visualizations with minimal text.
• The type of mind wandering influenced user engagement and emotional responses.
• Mind wandering acted as a mediator between visualization design elements and subsequent user perceptions.

Conclusions:

• Mind wandering is a crucial dynamic indicator for evaluating data visualization effectiveness.
• Incorporating mind wandering measurement offers new strategies for improving visualization design, user engagement, and comprehension.
• Future research should leverage dynamic cognitive measures to enhance UX evaluation in interactive systems.