Integration of Information Sources of Varying Weights: The Effect of Display Features and Attention Cueing
Abstract
This report reviews research in which multiple sources of variable reliability information are integrated for the purpose of making diagnostic judgments or allocating resources. A framework for considering these experiments is presented, and some evidence is presented regarding the extent to which humans are calibrated, in allocating processing proportionately to the ideal weights (i.e., reliability or importance) of information channels. Two generic sources of bias are identified. Attentional biases occur when more processing is given to less important channels, at the expense of more important ones (i.e., a failure to allocate attention optimally). Trust biases occur when less than fully reliable information is offered more processing than is warranted (i.e., "over trust"). A smaller number of specific studies are reviewed, and their conclusions are integrated, which have examined how multisource information processing is modulated by properties of the display of those sources. Two sources of display information are considered: attentional guidance, (e.g., cueing) directs attention to certain regions of the display. Reliability guidance explicitly displays the level of reliability of the information source(s). Each type of display can be explicitly designed to induce the appropriate behavior from the user, or can be a feature of the display that implicitly induces the relevant behavior. Generalizations regarding the effectiveness of these display features are sought from the studies reviewed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA436778
Entities
People
- Christopher Dow Wickens
- Heather L. Pringle
- James Merlo
Organizations
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign