An evaluation of visual search behavior on a cathode ray tube utilizing the window technique

The visual search task in this experiment involved two components: (1) moving or changing of stimuli viewed in the window of a cathode ray tube (CRT), and (2) processing of the stimulus information. In order to view the entire stimulus field, searchers needed to control which section of the super-display they saw in the window. The motion relationship between the entire display and the window is analogous to that involving the principle of the moving part. The present study considered whether the super-display should be the static component and the window the moving component or, whether the super-display should be the moving component and the window the static component. The second aspect of this experiment considered how stimulus information is processed, in relation to the length of a memorized target list. This aspect evaluated two general models of human information processing: serial and parallel. Ten participants searched a series of alphanumeric displays, presented on a CRT, for specific numeric stimuli (targets). Independent variables were display motion control, length of target list, target density, non-target density, and window size. The effect of time on performance was also measured by blocking trials. Each participant performed at all levels of each variable except display motion. Five participants controlled window motion, and five controlled super-display motion. The basic experimental design consisted of a modified central composite design taken from response surface methodology.