This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bisantz, A. M. Articles by Munch, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bisantz, A. M. Articles by Munch, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Displaying Uncertainty: Investigating the Effects of Display Format and Specificity

University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York

Stephanie Schinzing Marsiglio

University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York

Jessica Munch

University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York

We conducted four studies regarding the representation of probabilistic information. Experiments 1 through 3 compared performance on a simulated stock purchase task, in which information regarding stock profitability was probabilistic. Two variables were manipulated: display format for probabilistic information (blurred and colored icons, linguistic phrases, numeric expressions, and combinations) and specificity level (in which the number and size of discrete steps into which the probabilistic information was mapped differed). Results indicated few performance differences attributable to display format; however, performance did improve with greater specificity. Experiment 4, in which participants generated membership functions corresponding to three display formats, found a high degree of similarity in functions across formats and participants and a strong relationship between the shape of the membership function and the intended meaning of the representation. These results indicate that participants can successfully interpret nonnumeric representations of uncertainty and can use such representations in a manner similar to the way numeric expressions are used in a decision-making task. Actual or potential applications of this research include the use of graphical representations of uncertainty in systems such as command and control and situation displays.

Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 47, No. 4, 777-796 (2005)
DOI: 10.1518/001872005775570916


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?