Monitor jitter and human-computer interaction

In the present pilot study we have investigated the effects of computer mon itor jitter induced by an external magnetic field on the video display unit (VDU) user's performance in reading and search-highlight tasks, as well as on the heart rate (HR). Additionally, attention and short-term memory were tested before and after VDU work under different levels of screen instabil ity. Work with a jitter-distorted monitor impaired the performance of the integr ative task (the search-highlight test). An effect on the HR was found durin g the performance of this task under conditions of subthreshold jitter. The test set-up did not reveal if the effect was caused by the perception of j itter or some other effect. These findings must be validated by more detail ed psychophysical tests before further conclusions can be drawn. No signifi cant difference was found on the performance of other tests. (C) 2000 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.