The Effects of Potentiometer Dimensionality, System Response Time, and Time of Day on Interactive Graphical Problem Solving

Subjects solved a two-parameter optimization problem using a graphic display with light-pen interaction via either two linear light potentiometers or one planar light potentiometer. Normally distributed computer response times were used, with a mean of 1.0 s and a range of 0.2 to 3.4 s. Three standard deviation values were used: 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 s. Potentiometer dimensionality affected the extent to which each of the two parameters was searched, but had no significant effect on solution time. System response time variability affected the time taken to solve the problem, and its effect interacted strongly with time of day.