Stimulus-Response Compatibility Principles: Data, Theory, and Application

Understanding of the factors that influence stimulus-response (S-R) compatibility and determine when and how compatibility effects will arise is a necessary foundation for appropriately applying compatibility principles in design and for evaluating the relative compatibility of alternative designs. Summarizing the state of contemporary knowledge regarding determinants of compatibility, Stimulus-Response Compatibility Principles: Data, Theory, and Application provides thorough, up-to-date coverage of basic and applied research coupled with an emphasis on relating this knowledge to specific design guidelines. Examining a broad range of theoretical and applied issues from the compatibility perspective, the authors review basic research devoted to theoretical issues concerning S-R compatibility in particular and the relation between perception and action more generally. They cover effects of different S-R mappings in simple and complex tasks, factors that influence response-selection efficiency, correspondence effects of irrelevant stimulus information, compatibility effects for multiple and orthogonal dimensions, consequences of mixing mappings and tasks, practice and transfer effects, compatibility effects in multiple-task performance, and direction of motion stereotypes. The authors provide a thorough treatment of alternative views, contrasting and comparing their strengths and weaknesses. They provide guidelines that incorporate current knowledge about compatibility effects. Previous books on S-R compatibility have been edited works that contained detailed descriptions of the findings of various research programs across the world. Consequently, those books do not provide a cohesive overview of the range of research on compatibility effects, and the treatments they provide are not easy to comprehend by individuals who lack a background in the area. Making information accessible to a broad range of researchers and practitioners, this text organizes, summarizes, and integrates the vast amount of knowledge concerning S-R compatibility.

STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY AND SELECTION OF ACTION: BASIC CONCEPTS
Classic Studies
Terminology and Distinctions
Techniques for Studying S-R Compatibility
Models for S-R Compatibility Effects

FACTORS IN ADDITION TO S-R COMPATIBILITY THAT AFFECT RESPONSE-SELECTION EFFICIENCY
The Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff
Uncertainty and Number of Alternatives
Response-Precuing Effects
Sequential Effects
Influence of Practice on Set-Size Effects and Sequence Learning

BASIC STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY EFFECTS
Spatial Stimuli and Responses
Verbal and Nonverbal S-R Modes
Other Element-Level S-R Compatibility Effects

CORRESPONDENCE OF IRRELEVANT STIMULUS INFORMATION AND RESPONSES: THE SIMON EFFECT
Spatial Stimuli and Responses
Verbal and Nonverbal S-R Modes
Simon-Type Effects for Other Stimulus and Response Dimensions

S-R COMPATIBILITY EFFECTS FOR MULTIDIMENSIONAL STIMULUS AND RESPONSE SETS
Two-Dimensional Nonspatial Stimuli Mapped to Keypress Responses
The Right-Left Prevalence Effect for Two-Dimensional Spatial Stimuli and Responses
Simon Effects for Two-Dimensional Spatial Stimuli and Responses
Static and Dynamic Dimensions
Judgment and Decision-Making

REVERSING THE SIMON EFFECT FOR IRRELEVANT LOCATION
The Hedge and Marsh Reversal
Manipulating Percentages of Corresponding and Noncorresponding Trials
Effects of Intermixed Location-Relevant Mappings
Transfer from a Prior Spatial Mapping to the Simon Task

CONSEQUENCES OF MIXED MAPPINGS AND TASKS
Mixing Compatible and Incompatible Mappings in Spatial Choice Tasks
Mixing Nonspatial S-R Mappings
Accounts for Elimination of the S-R Compatibility Effect with Mixed Mappings
Mixing Location-Relevant and -Irrelevant Trials: The S-R Compatibility Effect
Accounts for the Elimination of S-R Compatibility Effects with Mixed Location-Relevant and -Irrelevant Trials
Comparison of Mixed Mappings and Trial Types
A Negative Correspondence Effect for Masked Stimuli

COMPATIBILITY EFFECTS FOR ORTHOGONAL DIMENSIONS
Up-Right/Down-Left Mapping Advantage
Influences of Hand, Hand Posture, and Response Eccentricity on Orthogonal S-R Compatibility
Correspondence of Asymmetric Codes as a General Principle of Binary-Choice Reactions
Tasks with More than Two Alternatives

POPULATION STEREOTYPES FOR DIRECTION OF MOTION AND COLOR, WORD, AND PICTURE ASSOCIATIONS
Linear Display Indicators and their Relations to Controls
Rotary Displays and their Controls
Other Population Stereotypes

STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY EFFECTS IN DUAL-TASK PERFORMANCE
The PRP Effect and the Central Bottleneck Model
Simon Effects for Irrelevant Stimulus Location
Consistency of Mappings
Crosstalk between Tasks
Can the Bottleneck Be Bypassed?

MODELS OF STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY EFFECTS
The Algorithmic Model of S-R Compatibility
Salient Features Coding Perspective
A Computational Model of the Simon Effect
The Dimensional Overlap Model
The Theory of Event Coding
The Ecological Approach

INCORPORATING S-R COMPATIBILITY IN DESIGN
Proximity Compatibility and Stimulus-Central Processing-Response Compatibility
Guidelines for Compatibility Effects in Interface Design
Naïve and Experienced Judgments

References
Index