THE PROXIMITY COMPATIBILITY PRINCIPLE - ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION AND RELEVANCE TO DISPLAY DESIGN

In this report we describe the concept of the proximity compatibility principle (PCP) and demonstrate its relevance to display design: Displ ays relevant to a common task or mental operation (close task or menta l proximity) should be rendered close together in perceptual space (cl ose display proximity). Different forms of task proximity are discusse d, as are the different information-processing mechanisms that underli e the effects of the several different design manipulations of display proximity. Experimental data that support this process-based elaborat ion of PCP are then reviewed in design contexts relating to aviation, graphs, display layout, and decision aiding.