Cognitive model working alongside the user

Abstract

A computational cognitive model of Web navigation is proposed. The model was used to generate navigation support and this support was offered to users in real time during their navigation sessions. The consequences of providing model-generated navigation support were experimentally investigated. Two experiments are presented. In the first experiment navigation support was offered in the auditory modality and it had a positive effect on users task performance, especially for users with low spatial abilities. In the second experiment navigation support was offered in the visual modality and it was well received, users navigated in a more structured way, perceived the system as more usable, and themselves as less disoriented. Men took more advantage from being provided with navigation support than women. Finally, some aspects regarding the validity of the proposed model and its practical relevance are discussed.