Perceptual grouping describes the organization of small elements into larger objects. Research in user interface (UI) design has demonstrated effects of perceptual grouping on attention and navigation. However, grouping can be mediated by a variety of task factors. One such mediator is processing time. Recent discoveries in vision science suggest that elemental grouping can occur in more than one way, depending on how long elements are displayed. These findings have led to a new understanding of perceptual organization of elements in real-world spatial environments. However,these findings had not been explored within the context of UI environments. Time limits to UI are often set by task demands. Exposure time limits may affect perceptual grouping of elements in UI. Here I report a series of experiments that tested global and local pushbutton grouping by time in user interface displays. The research question was to determine whether global or local depictions of pushbutton groupings speed interaction with user interface. Global and local groupings were compared because prior researchers have discovered that global scene properties can be perceived before local scene properties. For this reason, it was hypothesized that global, as opposed to local, depictions of pushbutton groupings would speed human-interface interactions. Global grouping was defined as grouping by relatively large shapes whereas local grouping was defined as grouping by shapes that were relatively small. The difference between global and local grouping was quantitative and defined by comparison. Participants saw pushbutton interface displays on a computer monitor for varied exposure durations and were asked to make decisions about the grouping of pushbuttons in these displays. Responses and reaction times were recorded. The results of the reported experiments suggest that global, as compared to local, groupings are more accessible across stimulus durations. They also suggest that global groupings can be utilized faster than local groupings in unlimited exposures. Taken together, the reported results further our understanding of global and local Gestalt grouping in user interface displays.

由於資訊科技的進步，網頁資訊更豐富與複雜，本研究從兩方面，一方面找出複雜的網頁是如何被使用者所認知？另一方面網頁介面設計的好不好？該如何設計才能降低網頁資訊的複雜度使其更易讀的方法。若網站介面設計能搭配使用者的認知，將有助網站設計出能降低複雜度又易讀的網頁，幫助使用者完成任務。因此，研究目的為瀏覽者是如何知覺與認知複雜的網頁？網頁介面的版面配置設計的好不好？研究問題為腦中模版是否影響網頁瀏覽？找出降低資訊複雜度的螢幕設計的原則？ 本研究分別設計四個實驗驗證四個假設，實驗一的目的是驗證使用者腦中模板對資訊選擇有影響。方法是比較實驗未進行前，瀏覽者大腦中所認知的電子商務網頁配置概圖，得到瀏覽者腦中既有的模板是什麼，再進行選擇注意實驗，比較瀏覽者畫出來電子商務網站的回憶圖與未進行實驗前的模板間的一致性。結論為模板與實際組的卡方值均為不顯著，因此，可以得知瀏覽者瀏覽電子商務網站時腦中的模板確實影響網頁選擇注意。 實驗二的目的是驗證使用者因為任務需要不同資訊的選擇策略對造成其網頁的認知不同；方法是實驗中透過使用者進行搜尋的任務中，根據其瀏覽策略將搜尋任務第一頁的瀏覽與最後一頁不同的瀏覽目標，因要達成的選擇策略不同所以其選擇注意不同。結論為第一頁與最後一頁的的瀏覽分析可以得知不同資訊的選擇策略將影響網頁介面的螢幕配置認知。 實驗三的目的螢幕配置會影響選擇注意。方法計算文獻整理的六個指標的理論值之後，實証為讓使用者到四個國家的yahoo網頁進行任務，會因網頁配置不同，影響使用者對四個不同國家的yahoo網頁的認知選擇注意不同。結論為四個國家卡方值為顯著，表示四個國家的介面配置不同確實會影響不同的選擇注意。 實驗四的目的証明網頁設計易讀性理論值與實證的順序是相同的。方法計算文獻整理的六個指標的理論值之後，實証為將四個日韓台美不同的yahoo網頁的配置，兩個為一組，分六組進行實驗，以了解四個國家網頁哪個配置讓瀏覽者較容易閱讀。結論為理論的順序：日(0.099)>美(0.095)>台(0.086)>韓(0.078)；實證的順序：美>日>台>韓；日美優於台韓故順序一致。 根據實驗的結論，我們知道使用者面對複雜的網頁資訊時，會根據腦中的模版來分析與過濾網頁上面的資訊，而且瀏覽者對於資訊的選擇確實會影響網頁螢幕的配置像對空白與色彩..等的差異，並且根據文獻找出的指標確實與實際狀況符合。所以，建議設計師在網頁layout設計，要按照使用者的工作任務經驗，及各工作任務的可能模版特質來設計資訊呈現內容。並根據六個整理出來的指標列為參考的網頁設計元素，將元素差異及元素關係的因素，如資訊在畫面上的位置、形成區塊的空白、框線、對比顏色、文字大小，以及關鍵詞等因素善加運用，按照工作任務性質，做適當安排。將有效降低使用者認知複雜度達成任務。 / Due to the fast growth of information technology, website information has become richer and more complex, and this piece of research will target on two main related areas. One is to find out how those complicated webpage were cognized by their users? The other is to discuss whether if the existing webpage interface design is good or not, and how webpage information should be designed in order to reduce its complicity and make it easier to read. If the webpage interface is able to collocate with users’ cognition, it will help websites to create webpage with low complicity and ease of read, and thereby assisting users to complete their missions. Therefore, the research aim would be to understand how browsers sense and perceive webpage and its complicity. Is the interface and layout design suitable for such webpage? In addition, the key question is to ask if internet browsing would be affected by our brain templates, and to further find out the principles for low information complicity screen design. The research body consists of four experiments which are set to prove 4 hypotheses. First experiment is to prove that users’ brain templates have effects on the choices of information. The main method is to obtain the e-commerce webpage layout from browsers’ brain before carrying out any further tasks, and see what the initial templates look like. And then by taking the selective attention tests, to compare the similarity between the memorial mappings of the e-commerce website with the initial template. The result has shown that the chi-square values between template and real group are both not significant, therefore, it is predicted that when users are browsing e-commerce websites, the brain templates do have effects on webpage selective attention. Experiment two aims to examine if differences in webpage cognition occur as users could have various choices of information due to different needs. When users browse the internet, because of the targets change, the strategies used in first page and last page also differs, and so does the selective attention. To conclude, from the first and last pages browsing analysis we can know that different information choice strategies will have impacts on the webpage interface layout. Third experiment focuses on the display layout which affects selective attentions. By calculating six theoretical values from indicators in literature reviews, and in order to prove the theory users are asked to carry out missions on Yahoo! websites in four countries, and because the webpage layouts are different, the users’ selective attentions also varies in these four countries. The chi-square values of the four countries are significant, which means different webpage layout will alter selective attentions. The last one proves that the theoretical values of legibility in webpage design are proportional to the case studies. In order to understand which Yahoo! website is the easiest to read out of these four countries, they were divided into groups of two and carried out six sets of experiments. Theoretical result shows that Japan (0.099)>US (0.095)>Taiwan (0.086)>Korea (0.078), where practical result shows US>Japan>Taiwan>Korea, and therefore both proved that US and Japan are better than Taiwan and Korea. According to the results of experiments, we can know that when users face complex web information, they tend to use the templates created in their brain to analyze and filter those information, and the choices of information that browsers made do affect webpage and screen layout, such as different spacing and coloring; which just corresponds with our literature indications. Hence, when designing webpage layout, designers are recommended to demonstrate the content by following users’ actual experiences, plus some possible behaviors under different work and mission conditions. In addition, the six indicators should also be used as design references, and key factors such as the positioning of information, spacing, bordering, contrast, font sizes and keywords should also be taken into consideration in order to make appropriate arrangement to suit different work properties, which will lower the cognition complicity for users effectively, and thereby fulfill its tasks.

This is a report on research regarding the screen layout of Web-based training (WBT) programs, conducted with an eye toward providing evidence-based guidance for the design and development of WBT interfaces. Specifically, the study investigated the relative instructional benefits of two general types of WBT screen design, full-page and partial-page, in terms of both learner performance and learner satisfaction. The main hypotheses of the study were that the full-page design option would yield significantly better outcomes in both categories of interest.The study employed a mixed-method design, generating both quantitative and qualitative data. The main phase of the study was experimental, following a factorial design to explore the relationships between a single treatment variable (WBT screen design) in two treatment conditions (partial-page WBT design and full-page WBT design) and two dependent variables (learner performance and learner satisfaction). Both a full-page and a partial-page version of the same Web-based tutorial were created, and 129 self-selected undergraduate students who reported having little or no experience with the tutorial subject matter were randomly assigned into the two treatment groups. Performance data were collected as scores on the tutorial's 18-item, multiple choice final exam, and satisfaction data were collected via a 10-item satisfaction survey. In addition, 59 of the study participants were randomly selected to participate in post-study session interviews.The results of the study yielded no significant difference between the two treatment groups for either learner performance or learner satisfaction; thus, making it impossible to reject the null hypothesis for either of the two primary research questions. The conclusion of this study was that the presence or absence of scrolling alone is not a significant factor either in how well a person performs in a WBT program or how satisfied they are with the learning experience . However, while analysis of the post-study session interview data supported this conclusion, the fact that a large majority of the interviewees stated a preference for the full-page, non-scrolling WBT interface design suggests that some elements inherent in the full-page design might warrant further consideration and/or study.