The doctoral dissertations of the former Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) and Aalto University Schools of Technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI) published in electronic format are available in the electronic publications archive of Aalto University - Aaltodoc.
Aalto

Human Abilities to Perceive, Understand, and Manage Multi-Dimensional Information with Visualizations

Mikko Berg

Doctoral dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission of the School of Science for public examination and debate in Auditorium TU1 at the Aalto University (Espoo, Finland) on the 27th of April 2012 at 12 noon.

Overview in PDF format (ISBN 978-952-60-4549-8)   [4966 KB]
Dissertation is also available in print (ISBN 978-952-60-4548-1)

Abstract

Visualizations facilitate presenting information in a form adapted to human visual system. The thesis defines this adapting more precisely with a framework of human-visualization interaction. Human capacity limits are used to identify critical subtasks in interaction that specify whether the data quantities and complexity of relations are understandable. In reality, use context and personal characteristics also impact understanding. The framework identifies commonalities of human processing in context of large quantities of multi-dimensional data. The novel extension is to identify multi-dimensionality from tasks of ordinary people, such as shopping or voting. According to the hypothesis ordinary people can also understand more complex information with the help of visualized dimension-reduction algorithms (e.g., MDS or SOM). Such context and haste give prominence to perceptual and cognitive processes, the critical subtasks, and the related visual parameters. Unfortunately, the interactive effects of the related parameters on performance cannot be predicted with real applications, and thus applied studies are needed.

The proposed multi-disciplinary framework is based on reviewing empirical findings about humans. First, cognitive science about human concept formation is used to provide indications about how to pre-processes data into more readily understandable form. Second, vision research, experimental psychology, and neuroscience are used to explain the interaction, when information is received through vision and the input is influenced through gaze shifts and manual operations. Third, findings are reviewed about conditions, in which processing is likely to be externalized to visualization or tool as opposed to being performed by human mind. The framework is then applied for psychophysically controlled reaction time and eye movement experiments based on selective review of methods and critical visual parameters in research of visual searching. The evaluated tasks, searching and integrating, were chosen based on both behavioural studies with visualizations and implications of the framework. The ordinary people interacting with visualizations were evaluated indirectly from the popularity, feedback, and observations during two Finnish elections.

The framework led to three suggested principles. First, externalizing memory tasks and information processing to visualizations reduces mental load. Second, relations of dimensions can be uncovered by perceiving consequences of own manual actions. Third, peripheral vision is suitable for representing coarse outlines, for instance depicting dimension reduction. Facilitating rapid gaze shifts is important for all of these principles.

This thesis consists of an overview and of the following 6 publications:

  1. Mikko Berg, Mauri Kaipainen, and Ilpo Kojo. 2004. Enhancing usability of the similarity map for more accessible politics. In: Adjunct Proceedings of the 8th ERCIM Workshop on User Interfaces for All (UI4ALL 2004). Palais Eschenbach, Vienna, Austria. 28-29 June 2004. Pages 39-46. © 2004 European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM). By permission.
  2. Mikko Berg, Topias Marttila, Mauri Kaipainen, and Ilpo Kojo. 2006. Exploring political agendas with advanced visualizations and interface tools. e-Service Journal, volume 4, number 2, pages 47-63. © 2006 Indiana University Press. By permission.
  3. Mikko Berg, Jan-Hendrik Schleimer, Jaakko Särelä, and Timo Honkela. 2005. Category learning by formation of regions in conceptual spaces. In: Lorenzo Magnani and Riccardo Dossena (editors). Computing, Philosophy and Cognition. Proceedings of the 2nd European Computing and Philosophy Conference (ECAP 2004). Pavia, Italy. 3-5 June 2004. London, United Kingdom. College Publications. Texts in Philosophy, volume 4, pages 381-396. ISBN 1-904987-24-9. © 2005 by authors.
  4. Mikko Berg. 2008. Katseenliikkeet ja harha terävästi nähdystä näkökentästä. (Eye movements and the delusion of high acuity visual field.) Psykologia, volume 43, number 3/2008, pages 193-204. © 2008 Finnish Psychological Society. By permission.
  5. Mikko Berg and Ilpo Kojo. 2012. Integrating complex information with object displays: psychophysical evaluation of outlines. Behaviour & Information Technology, volume 31, number 2, pages 155-169. © 2012 Taylor & Francis. By permission.
  6. Mikko Berg, Ilpo Kojo, and Jari Laarni. 2010. Object displays for identifying multidimensional outliers within a crowded visual periphery. Journal of Visual Communication and Image Representation, volume 21, number 8, pages 880-888. © 2010 Elsevier. By permission.

Keywords: visualization, multi-dimensional, vision, perception, cognition, eye movements

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© 2012 Aalto University

Last update 2014-03-26