Traditional Versus Sequenced Choropleth Maps/An Experimental Investigation

Modern computer technology provides cartographers with a host of new display potentialities not possible with traditional printed maps. One of these is sequencing, or the display of map elements in a particular order. This paper evaluates sequencing of choropleth maps via reaction time experiments with human subjects. Informal experiments reveal that subjects favor some form of sequencing, while formal experiments show no significant difference between traditional and sequenced maps for either information acquisition or memory. Since subjects find sequencing appealing and it does not appear to have negative effects on map learning, software developers may wish to consider including it as part of their cartographic display systems.