Human monitoring behavior in a multiple-instrument setting: independent sampling, sequential sampling or...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Cognitive Psychology
• Systems Engineering

Background:

• Understanding human monitoring behavior is crucial for designing effective multi-instrument systems.
• Traditional normative models assume independent sampling, but real-world behavior may differ.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether human sampling behavior in multi-instrument settings aligns with normative models or heuristic-based strategies.
• To examine the influence of spatial arrangement and information generation rates on eye movement sampling patterns.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments recorded eye movements during monitoring tasks with varying numbers of instruments, information rates, and spatial layouts.
• Participants detected critical situations in continuous stochastic processes.
• Analysis focused on sampling independence, information generation rates, and spatial transition patterns (horizontal vs. diagonal).

Main Results:

• Sampling behavior was initially consistent with normative models regarding information generation rates.
• Spatial arrangement and fixation points significantly affected sampling, indicating heuristic use.
• A bias towards horizontal eye movements over diagonal ones was observed, influencing sampling intervals.

Conclusions:

• Human monitoring behavior in multi-instrument settings is not solely driven by information rates but is significantly influenced by perceptual heuristics, particularly spatial arrangement.
• A preference for horizontal transitions can override optimal sampling strategies, potentially impacting system performance under certain conditions.