Impact of numerical and graphical formats on dynamic decision making performance

This paper presents a study in which we manipulated the interface of a computer simulation into: graphical and numerical formats. We obtained both performance and eye-tracking learning curves from individuals assigned to one of these two conditions. Our findings indicate that although performance is not different between the two interfaces, the amount of attention as measured by the number of eye-tracking points was very different in the graphical and numerical conditions. Attention increased over time in the numerical condition, but was stable in the graphical condition. These results showed that the strategies used to make decisions in dynamic environments vary according to the form of information presentation.