Efficiency of Spearcon-Enhanced Navigation of One Dimensional Electronic Menus

Abstract

This study investigated navigation through a cell phone menu in the presence of auditory cues (text-to-speech and spearcons), visual cues, or both. A total of 127 undergraduates navigated through a 50-item alphabetically listed menu to find a target name. Participants using visual cues (either alone or combined with auditory cues) responded faster than those using only auditory cues. Performance was not found to be significantly different among the two auditory only conditions. Although not significant, when combined with visual cues, spearcons improved navigational efficiency more than both text-to- speech cues and menus using no sound, and provided evidence for the ability of sound to enhance visual menus. Research results provide evidence applicable to efficient auditory menu creation.