Abstract: Research on the highlighting of alphanumeric information is expanding greatly due to the increasing use of computer-generated displays. The assumed advantage of highlighting a particular selection or target on the display is that it speeds the search process for information. However, recent work indicates that the enthusiasm for highlighting might be misplaced. In particular, it has been found that subjects can take longer to identify a target when highlighting is used than when no highlighting is used, at least when the number of options in the display is kept relatively small. One of the purposes of this study is to determine whether highlighting degrades performance when the number of options is increased substantially.

Keywords: CRT; Coding, highlighting; Design; Empirical studies; Evaluation; Highlighting; Models and theories; Screen output; VDT/VDU; Visual search

Originally published: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 31st Annual Meeting, 1987, pp. 524-528

Republished: G. Perlman, G. K. Green, & M. S. Wogalter (Eds.) Human Factors Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction: Selections from Proceedings of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meetings, 1983-1994, Santa Monica, CA: HFES, 1995, pp. 80-84.