An experimental evaluation of multivariate graphical point representations

Abstract

In a generally optimistic assessment of progress in the psychology of human-computer interaction, Moran [30] reported that the field "needs to work more at bringing existing areas of cognitive psychology and traditional human factors to bear on user behavior." This caveat applies especially to the area of computer graphics because of the dearth of experiments and theory on the effectiveness of various types of graphical displays. Broad applications of psychological theory to graphic design have been presented in [6], [19], [28], [32] and [33]. These articles have drawn heavily on Gestalt theory, memory models, and the theory of cognitive schemas in human judgment. They present little experimental evidence relevant to complex visual displays, however.