COMPUTER SCREEN DESIGNS - VIEWER JUDGMENTS

This study examined viewer judgments about the readability and studyab ility of two sets of computer screens: a set of model displays and a s et of real screens copied from CAI programs. The purpose was to identi fy constructs that could guide the design of computer screens used to display information in computer-assisted instruction, hypermedia, or o n-line help applications. It also searched for any relationships among viewer preference and viewer field articulation (field-dependence/ind ependence), conceptual style (relational/analytical), and gender. Find ings based on multidimensional scaling techniques confirmed and furthe r defined the existence of evaluative constructs based on visual compl exity and organization. No generalizable effects for field articulatio n, conceptual style, or gender differences were found.