Display object alignment may influence location recall in unexpected ways

TL;DR

This study challenges the assumption that aligned layouts always aid memory, showing eccentric arrangements can improve incidental location recall and reveal gender-based differences in user experience.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that eccentric object layouts can enhance incidental location recall and highlights gender differences in subjective workload and frustration.

Findings

Eccentric layouts improve incidental location recall.

Frequent near-miss errors occur with aligned layouts.

Gender differences influence subjective experience and performance.

Abstract

There is a presumption in human-computer interaction that laying out menus and most other material in neat rows and columns helps users get work done. The rule has been so implicit in the field of design as to allow for no debate. However, the idea that perfect collinearity benefits creates an advantage for both either search and or recall has rarely been tested. Drawing from separate branches of cognitive literature, we tested a minimal brainstorming interface with either aligned or eccentrically arranged layouts on 96 college students. Incidental exact recall of recently worked locations improved in the eccentric condition. And in both conditions there were frequent near-miss recall errors to neighboring aligned objects and groups of objects. Further analysis found only marginal performance advantages specifically for females with the eccentric design. However, NASA-TLX subjective measures showed that in eccentric, females reported higher performance, less effort, and yet also higher frustration; while males reported lower performance with about the same effort, and lower frustration.