@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Business, Sauder School of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Masulis, Paul Stanton"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-02-23T19:53:00Z"@en, "1978"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Science - MSc"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """In this thesis, the author pursued two objectives. The first objective was to present a working example of a convenient, "idiot-proof", interactive computer program (designed with the user - not the programmer - in mind). The second objective was to investigate how various types of users interact with the computer, with the intention of reaching some conclusions about which program interfaces were most appropriate and convenient for various user types. In addition, some theories about the effects of various behavioural variables were investigated. The experimental tool used for this research was a simple interactive computer game in which the participants searched for the optimum profit in a three-dimensional space, given a fixed time limit. , Frequent periodic measurements were automatically collected on user performance, attitude, requests for reports, utilization of special features, and other variables; also, the solution protocol of each participant was recorded. The users were cateqorized by coqnitive style (heuristic/analytic), risk attitude, and previous computer experience as determined by a battery of pre-tests and questionnaires. In analyzinq the results, it was found that experience level was the dcminatinq factor on all dimensions: novices were slower, finished less frequently, and were siqnificantly less confident than experienced players. A hiqhly structured proqram interface was found to be more appropriate for these new users., Experience was also the dominating factor in the use of reports, although novices did show a marked learning effect over time - as did all users on most dimensions of performance and behaviour. As previously hypothesized, analytic-types and risk-takers played significantly faster and were more confident than heuristic-types and risk-averters, respectively. Concerning utilization of special program features, it was found that input response defaults influenced users in unfamiliar situations (ones which were new or did not have clear-cut responses), and didn't affect them at all in familiar circumstances. Analytic-types made least use of defaults. Bisk-averters were least likely to abbreviate commands. Also, the extent to which commands were abbreviated depended much upon their length, Finally, in the area of solution protocols, it was indeed found that heuristic-types were much less structured in their approach to solving the problem than analytic-types. ."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/20780?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE by PAUL STANTON MASULIS B.S., Carnegie-Mellon U n i v e r s i t y , 1976 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION xn THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Commerce and Business A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ) We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to t h e r e q u i r e d standard: THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA May, 1978 (c) Paul Stanton Masulis, 1978 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t of the requirements f o r an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and study. I f u r t h e r agree t h a t permission f o r e x t e n s i v e copying of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s understood t h a t copying or p u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Paul Stanton Masulis F a c u l t y of Commerce and Business A d m i n i s t r a t i o n The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1J6 Date: May 25, 1978 ABSTRACT In t h i s t h e s i s , the author pursued two o b j e c t i v e s . The f i r s t o b j e c t i v e was to present a working example of a convenient, \" i d i o t - p r o o f \" , i n t e r a c t i v e computer program (designed with the user - not the programmer - i n mind). The second o b j e c t i v e was t o i n v e s t i g a t e how v a r i o u s types of users i n t e r a c t with the computer, with the i n t e n t i o n of r e a c h i n g some c o n c l u s i o n s about which program i n t e r f a c e s were most a p p r o p r i a t e and convenient f o r v a r i o u s user types. I n a d d i t i o n , some t h e o r i e s about the e f f e c t s of v a r i o u s beha-v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s were i n v e s t i g a t e d . The experimental t o o l used f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h was a simple i n t e r a c t i v e computer game i n which the p a r t i c i p a n t s searched f o r the optimum p r o f i t i n a t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l space, given a f i x e d time l i m i t . , Frequent p e r i o d i c measurements were a u t o m a t i c a l l y c o l l e c t e d on user performance, a t t i t u d e , r equests f o r r e p o r t s , u t i l i z a t i o n of s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s , and other v a r i a b l e s ; a l s o , the s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l of each p a r t i c i p a n t was recorded. The users were c a t e q o r i z e d by c o q n i t i v e s t y l e ( h e u r i s t i c / a n a l y t i c ) , r i s k a t t i t u d e , and p r e v i o u s computer exper i e n c e as determined by a b a t t e r y of p r e - t e s t s and q u e s t i o n n a i r e s . In a n a l y z i n q the r e s u l t s , i t was found t h a t experience l e v e l was the dcminatinq f a c t o r on a l l dimensions: n o v i c e s were slower, f i n i s h e d l e s s f r e q u e n t l y , and were s i q n i f i c a n t l y l e s s c o n f i d e n t than experienced p l a y e r s . A h i q h l y s t r u c t u r e d proqram i n t e r f a c e was found t o be more a p p r o p r i a t e f o r these new use r s . , Experience was a l s o the dominating f a c t o r i n the use of r e p o r t s , although novices d i d show a marked l e a r n i n g e f f e c t over time - as d i d a l l users on most dimensions o f performance and behaviour. As p r e v i o u s l y hypothesized, a n a l y t i c - t y p e s and r i s k - t a k e r s played s i g n i f i c a n t l y f a s t e r and were more c o n f i d e n t than h e u r i s t i c - t y p e s and r i s k - a v e r t e r s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . Concerning u t i l i z a t i o n o f s p e c i a l program f e a t u r e s , i t was found t h a t i n p u t response d e f a u l t s i n f l u e n c e d users i n u n f a m i l i a r s i t u a t i o n s (ones which were new or d i d not have c l e a r - c u t r e s p o n s e s ) , and didn't a f f e c t them a t a l l i n f a m i l i a r circumstances. A n a l y t i c - t y p e s made l e a s t use o f d e f a u l t s . B i s k - a v e r t e r s were l e a s t l i k e l y t o a b b r e v i a t e commands. Al s o , the extent t o which commands were a b b r e v i a t e d depended much upon t h e i r l e n g t h , F i n a l l y , i n the area of s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s , i t was indeed found that h e u r i s t i c - t y p e s were much l e s s s t r u c t u r e d i n t h e i r approach t o s o l v i n g the problem than a n a l y t i c - t y p e s . . i v TABLE OP CjONTEIIS Chapter Page 1. I n t r o d u c t i o n .............. 1 2. L i t e r a t u r e Review ............... 3 3. The Computer Program 14 4. Data C o l l e c t i o n Methodology ..... ...................... 19 5. Hypotheses 25 6. A n a l y s i s of R e s u l t s 29 7. Conclus i o n s ........................................... 50 Footnotes ................................................. 57 B i b l i o g r a p h y ...... .................. .... .................. 60 Appendix A - Program L i s t i n g .............................. 62 Appendix B - Game I n s t r u c t i o n s 84 Appendix C - Sample I n t e r a c t i o n s .......................... 88 Appendix D - P r o f i t F u nction .............................. 99 Appendix E - Sample Program Output .,..,.........,....,,,.101 Appendix F - Sample P r o t o c o l s 103 Appendix G - Summary of R e s u l t s .......................... 107 V LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. ANOVA - Game Enjoyment 31 2. ANOVA - Minutes/Period 32 3. ANOVA - Termination on Time ........................... 33 4. ANOVA - Confidence L e v e l 34 5. T-TESTS - Performance and S t r u c t u r e ................... 35 6., ANOVA - E r r o r Hate 38 7. ANOVA - Opening D e f a u l t s ............................. 39 8. ANOVA - Acceptance of D e f a u l t s ........................ 40 9. ANOVA - Extent of A b b r e v i a t i o n 41 10. ANOVA - A b b r e v i a t i o n by Length .....42 11. T-TESTS - Comparisons over Time ....................... 42 12. ANOVA - Use o f H i s t o r y Reports ........................ 45 13. ANOVA - Use of Ordered H i s t o r y Reports ................ 46 14. ANOVA - Use of Graphs .. 47 15. ANOVA - P r o t o c o l S t r u c t u r e 48 16. ANOVA - P r o t o c o l D i s p e r s i o n 48 v i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would l i k e t o take t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y to thank my a d v i s o r s . P r o f e s s o r s a l b e r t Dexter and Izak Benbasat, f o r t h e i r r o l e i n the establishment and completion of t h i s r e s e a r c h : f o r summer employment i n 1977 as r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t , doing systems programming f o r two i n t e r a c t i v e computer games (work which f i r s t i n s t i l l e d my d e s i r e to i n v e s t i g a t e more c a r e f u l l y the man-machine i n t e r f a c e ) ; f o r s u g g e s t i o n s regarding implementation o f t h i s r e s e a r c h ; f o r o c c a s i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e support; and e s p e c i a l l y f o r t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s to t h i s f i n a l document, I a l s o thank my t h i r d committee member. Pr o f , Ronald T a y l o r , f o r h i s a d d i t i o n a l a s s i s t a n c e and enthusiasm. I n a d d i t i o n , I owe s i n c e r e thanks t o many of the students of S a i n t Andrew*s Residence H a l l f o r t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n , support, encouragement, and f e l l o w s h i p during t h i s r e s e a r c h and throughout my two years at the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. 1 Chapter One INTRODUCTION Even with the i n c r e a s i n g programming e f f o r t going i n t o the development o f i n t e r a c t i v e programs { e s p e c i a l l y s i m u l a t i o n s and games), design of the a c t u a l man-machine i n t e r f a c e has continued to be neglected. Many of the i n t e r a c t i v e programs which t h i s author has encountered tended to be q u i t e f r u s t r a t i n g t o use. For example, some r e q u i r e d t h a t e n t i r e commands be s p e l l e d out, when one or two l e t t e r s would be unambiquous. Others r e q u i r e d i n p u t i n a f i x e d format. S t i l l o t h e r s responded to an i l l e q a l i n p u t with an u n i n t e l l i g i b l e system e r r o r message. I t was not necessary t o look very f a r f o r examples; they were q u i t e p r o l i f i c i n the system program l i b r a r i e s o f every computer i n s t a l l a t i o n v i s i t e d . Some examples from the l i t e r a t u r e are i l l u s t r a t e d i n chapter two. A review of the l i t e r a t u r e i n d i c a t e d t h a t i n s u f f i c i e n t a t t e n t i o n seems to have been paid to t h i s i s s u e . Computer games abound as r e s e a r c h t o o l s , but few r e s e a r c h e r s appear to have considered whether t h e i r man-computer i n t e r f a c e s i g n i f i c a n t l y b i a s e d or discouraqed t h e i r s u b j e c t s . P e r u s a l of the standard t e x t s on man-computer communication was a l s o q u i t e f r u s t r a t i n q ; the t o p i c s covered were o f t e n too ge n e r a l or s o p h i s t i c a t e d f o r the designer of i n t e r a c t i v e programs f o r normal CRT t e r m i n a l s . Even i n the most u s e f u l c hapter, dozens o f i n t e r f a c e designs were l i s t e d and d e s c r i b e d , but few h i n t s were given as to when each was 2 a p p r o p r i a t e . A l s o , few r e f e r e n c e s were suggested f o r seeking f u r t h e r d e t a i l s ( r e i n f o r c i n g the notion that t h i s area had been f o r g o t t e n i n the l i t e r a t u r e ) . The goal of t h i s t h e s i s was t o examine a few i n t e r f a c e designs e x p e r i m e n t a l l y , with the i n t e n t i o n of determining the c o n d i t i o n s under which each was most a p p r o p r i a t e and i n d i c a t i n g any forms which may bias the user's behaviour. A l e s s e r g o a l was to a l s o study the e f f e c t s of some b e h a v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s upon performance, a t t i t u d e , and s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l . I n the f o l l o w i n g pages, t h e r e l e v a n t l i t e r a t u r e i s f i r s t b r i e f l y reviewed. Then, the a c t u a l program code i s presented and analyzed, with p a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n paid t o the in p u t prompts, the methods f o r a c c e p t i n g i n p u t from the user, and the te c h n i q u e s f o r d e t e c t i n g and handling user i n p u t e r r o r s (often r e f e r r e d t o as \" i d i o t - p r o o f i n g \" ) . Next, the a c t u a l data c o l l e c t i o n and a n a l y s i s are d e s c r i b e d ; then the f o l l o w i n g chapter presents and d i s c u s s e s the r e s u l t s r e l a t i n g t o user performance, use of program d e f a u l t s and command a b b r e v i a t i o n s , behaviour over time, and the p a r t i c i p a n t s ' s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s . F i n a l l y , some p r a c t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s and f u t u r e d i r e c t i o n s f o r re s e a r c h are suggested i n the c o n c l u d i n g chapter. 3 Chapter Two LITERATURE REVI Eg J3§c&3round _nd M o t i v a t i o n In t h i s c h a p t e r , some of the l i t e r a t u r e r e l e v a n t to t h i s r e s e a r c h i s presented: background review, user e n g i n e e r i n g a r t i c l e s , p r e v i o u s computer experimentation i n v o l v i n g b e h a v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s , l i t e r a t u r e concerning problem s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s , and t e x t s on the man-machine i n t e r f a c e are a l l d i s c u s s e d . Before l o o k i n g a t the l i t e r a t u r e which has d i r e c t bearing upon t h i s work, however, an i n d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d r e f e r e n c e i s mentioned. Although man-machine communication has on l y r e c e n t l y r e c e i v e d s e r i o u s a t t e n t i o n , i t has had a very i n t e r e s t i n g h i s t o r y . In h i s book Systems Psychology, 1 Kenyon B. DeGreene provided a very good summary of i t s h i s t o r y , from the i n t e n s i v e development of computer equipment i n the 1950s, to computer programs i n the e a r l y 1960s and man-machine i n t e r -r e l a t i o n s h i p s i n the l a t e 1960s. Chapter 10, e n t i t l e d ^Man-Machine I n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s , \" was d e s c r i b e d very w e l l i n i t s own i n t r o d u c t i o n : T h i s chapter f i r s t reviews h i s t o r y and t r e n d s toward g r e a t e r computer s y s t e m a t i z a t i o n . Areas of s p a t i a l and temporal i n t e r f a c e between man and computer r e c e i v e s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n . We then c o n s i d e r important s p e c i a l i z e d areas o f r e s e a r c h and a p p l i c a t i o n , which i n c l u d e means of d i r e c t , u s u a l l y dynamic man-computer communication by input and d i s p l a y d e v i c e s i n terms of given language s t r u c t u r e s , t i m e - s h a r i n g , and \" s y m b i o t i c \" problem s o l v i n g . Human f a c t o r s and managerial c o n s i d e r -a t i o n s i n computer systems f o l l o w . The chapter ends with an e v a l u a t i o n of the continued s o c i e t a l impact of computers. 2 4 I t a l s o i n c l u d e d a u s e f u l s e c t i o n on the main sources o f design and o p e r a t i o n a l e r r o r i n computer systems. O v e r a l l , t h i s r e f e r e n c e p r o v i d e s a good background f o r many of the ideas presented and p r a c t i c e d i n t h i s t h e s i s . More d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to t h i s r e s e a r c h i s a d o c t o r a l t h e s i s by Peter G. W. Keen 3 a t Harvard U n i v e r s i t y ; i n f a c t , i t i s probably the s i n g l e major cause of t h i s r e s e a r c h . I n h i s t h e s i s . Keen suggested an i n t e r a c t i v e computer s i m u l a t i o n program which allowed the user n e a r l y complete freedom t o decide what he would l i k e to do next, i n s t e a d of the t r a d i t i o n a l 'request i n p u t - s i m u l a t e - d i s p l a y output-repeat* c y c l e . Hypothesizing t h a t t h i s concept had r a t h e r s t r o n g i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r ease of use by i n e x p e r i e n c e d computer users and p o s s i b l y by those who d i s p l a y a n o n - a n a l y t i c c o g n i t i v e s t y l e of problem s o l v i n g , t h i s author decided t o e x p e r i m e n t a l l y t e s t the i m p l i c a t i o n s of Keen's suggestions. I t should be mentioned, however, t h a t t h i s author a l s o c o n s i d e r s the concept o f l e s s s t r u c t u r e d computer i n t e r f a c e s very important - i n t h e proper environment. For i n s t a n c e , they would be a p p r o p r i a t e f o r programs which are run f r e q u e n t l y , by experienced u s e r s . {Since t h i s r e s e a r c h was begun, i t has been l e a r n e d that Botkin* found t h a t such an unst r u c t u r e d model was used with equal e f f e c t i v e n e s s by both a n a l y t i c and h e u r i s t i c d e c i s i o n makers). The Inventory Management Game, a resea r c h t o o l used q u i t e e x t e n s i v e l y by Benbasats and others a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, was another i n f l u e n t i a l cause o f t h i s 5 t h e s i s . Experience with the o r i g i n a l v e r s i o n of the computer game demonstrated t h a t i t u n n e c e s s a r i l y neglected the user. For i n s t a n c e , a i l responses - i n c l u d i n g * YES* and *NG» - had to be typed i n f u l l ; no reasonable d e f a u l t values were provided to minimize r o u t i n e t y p i n g ; some i n p u t reguests were ambiguous; and any t y p i n g e r r o r s were answered by the u n i n t e l l i g i b l e system message \"ILLEGAL CHARACTER, ENTER REPLACEMENT NUMBER, OR RE-ENTER REST OF LINE FROM POINT OF ERROR, OR '8TS,»\" A new v e r s i o n of the Inventory Management Game has c o r r e c t e d many o f these shortcomings, and the authors have provided some i n t e r e s t i n g r e s u l t s r e l a t i n g some c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of an i n f o r m a t i o n system and a d e c i s o n maker t o the r e s u l t i n g d e c i s i o n making performance. For d e t a i l s , c o n s u l t the papers by Benbasat and S c h r o e d e r 6 , Benbasat and T a y l o r 7 , and Benbasat and D e x t e r 8 . Another e a r l y example o f a n o n - u s e r - o r i e n t e d i n t e r a c t i v e computer program appeared i n the June, 1969 i s s u e o f Management Science.» The authors s t a t e d i n the i n t r o d u c t i o n t h a t one m o t i v a t i o n f o r t h e i r r e s e a r c h was to answer the guestion \"How should a problem environment be s t r u c t u r e d i n order t o e f f e c t i v e l y employ the a b i l i t i e s of both the manager and the o n - l i n e , r e a l t i m e computer?\" They then proceeded to d e s c r i b e a job-shop s i m u l a t i o n program which r e g u i r e d the user to type such non-mnemonic commands as \"F0RSIM=2*\" to continue s i m u l a t i n g or \"SRULE=3, HRULE=6, HRS=80, QZ=-201*\" to change parameters, and which outputs a t a b l e with the ambiguous headings \"L, M, J , I, NEXT, KACT, PROM, LEFT, CUSH, LIPR, 6 COMP, SETUP, IQ.\" To t h i s author, t h i s j u s t was not a c o n v i n c i n g e f f o r t to \" e f f e c t i v e l y employ\" the a b i l i t i e s of both manager and computer. User En£ineej_in_ Methods One of the outcomes of the 1973 N a t i o n a l Computer Conference was an e x c e l l e n t a r t i c l e by Anthony Wasserman, 1 0 e n t i t l e d \"The Design o f ' I d i o t - P r o o f I n t e r a c t i v e Programs.\" According t o Wasserman, a program i s s a i d t o be i d i o t - p r o o f i f i t i s designed to a n t i c i p a t e any p o s s i b l e a c t i o n by i t s users and to respond i n such a manner as to minimize the chances of program or system f a i l u r e while s h i e l d i n g the user from the e f f e c t s of such a f a i l u r e . 1 1 Bearing i n mind Murphy's Law - anything t h a t can p o s s i b l y go wrong w i l l go wrong - Wasserman suggested f i v e p r i n c i p l e s : 1. Pr o v i d e a program a c t i o n f o r every p o s s i b l e type of i n p u t . 2. Minimize the need for t h e user t o l e a r n about the Computer System. 3. Provide a l a r g e number of e x p l i c i t d i a g n o s t i c s , along with e x t e n s i v e o n - l i n e user a s s i s t a n c e . 4. Provide program s h o r t - c u t s f o r knowledgeable users. 5. Allow the user to express the same message i n more than one way. These p r i n c i p l e s were a l l d e s c r i b e d i n d e t a i l i n the a r t i c l e , which then concluded with the f o l l o w i n g statement: There i s a s e r i o u s need f o r improved f a c i l i t i e s f o r the design o f i d i o t - p r o o f i n t e r a c t i v e programs, with a growing number of non-programmers using computers, development of comfortable man-machine i n t e r f a c e s w i l l outweigh many t r a d i t i o n a l c o n s i d e r -a t i o n s i n the o v e r a l l c r e a t i o n of i n t e r a c t i v e programs. 1 2 As s t a t e d e a r l i e r , the purpose o f t h i s t h e s i s was, i n f a c t , to provide a working example of an i d i o t - p r o o f program and t o perhaps make some c o n t r i b u t i o n to the above-mentioned need. 7 another e x c e l l e n t a r t i c l e about i d i o t - p r o o f i n g (or user e n g i n e e r i n g , or e r r o r engineering) came out of the 1971 F a l l J o i n t Computer Conference. In i t , W i l f r e d J. Hansen 1 3 suggested f o u r user e n g i n e e r i n g p r i n c i p l e s : Know the user Minimize memorization S e l e c t i o n not en t r y Names not numbers P r e d i c t a b l e behavior Access to system i n f o r m a t i o n Optimize o p e r a t i o n s Rapid execution of common o p e r a t i o n s D i s p l a y i n e r t i a Muscle memory Reorganize command parameters Engineer f o r e r r o r s Good e r r o r messages Engineer out the common e r r o r s R e v e r s i b l e a c t i o n s Redundancy Data s t r u c t u r e i n t e g r i t y 1 * Since some of these p r i n c i p l e s are q u i t e t e r s e , d e s c r i p t i o n s of a few o f t h e more vague ones f o l l o w : 'Names not numbers' suggests t h a t users be allowed t o enter a c t u a l names r a t h e r than a s s o c i a t e d number codes; ' P r e d i c t a b l e behavior' suggests t h a t the program have a \" p e r s o n a l i t y \" and be c o n s i s t e n t i n i t s output d i s p l a y and input requirements; 'Display i n e r t i a ' suqqests t h a t the t e r m i n a l d i s p l a y should change as l i t t l e as necessary i n c a r r y i n g out r e q u e s t s ; and 'Muscle memory' suqqests a need to desiqn a system so t h a t r e p e t i t i v e o p e r a t i o n s can be deleqated t o the lower part of the b r a i n ( i n the same way as many o f the o p e r a t i o n s i n d r i v i n q and t y p i n g ) . The a r t i c l e a l s o provided an e x c e l l e n t example of a user-engineered proqram. 8 P r e v i o u s Experimentation with B e h a v i o u r a l V a r i a b l e s another reason f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h was to r e l a t e some b e h a v i o u r a l a s p e c t s of users to t h e i r r e a c t i o n s to v a r i o u s program f e a t u r e s . T h i s was not a new concept; For i n s t a n c e , K. D. E a s o n 1 5 performed a study of \"The Manager as a Computer Oser.\" In i t , the nature of management was presented, then a survey of 200 computer users was d e s c r i b e d , and, f i n a l l y , f our major causes f o r user d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n with computer systems were analyzed. The f o u r causes were: an inadeguate match t o the manager's needs, new problems caused by system advancement, changes i n user e x p e c t a t i o n s (as they r e a l i z e the computer's p o t e n t i a l ) , and l a c k of both time and d e s i r e t o l e a r n how to operate complex systems., Eason found t h a t computer programs would have to be more convenient and more f l e x i b l e i n the f u t u r e ; he concluded t h a t \"unless i t i s p o s s i b l e to design forms of i n t e r a c t i o n acceptable to managers, t h i s r o l e f o r the manager may be very s h o r t l i v e d . \" 1 * a s i m i l a r study i s d e s c r i b e d i n an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d \"Human F a c t o r s E v a l u a t i o n of a Computer Based I n f o r m a t i o n Storage and R e t r i e v a l S y s tem.\" 1 7 The authors e v a l u a t e d a government computer system c a l l e d the C e n t r a l Information Reference and C o n t r o l (CIRC) system, and found t h a t : In reviewing the r e s u l t s from the e v a l u a t i o n , there appeared to be three main f a c t o r s which i n f l u e n c e an i n d i v i d u a l ' s s a t i s f a c t i o n with the CIRC system: (1) t r a i n i n g and l e v e l o f p r o f i c i e n c y , (2) amount of i n f o r m a t i o n i n the system to meet task reguirements, and (3) the i n d i v i d u a l ' s t o l e r a n c e f o r i r r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l . 1 8 9 The t h i r d p o i n t i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g . I t i s worthwhile to mention t h a t one of the advantages o f i n t e r a c t i v e systems i s the p o t e n t i a l to l e t the user choose what he needs - no more, no l e s s ; t h i s may be a j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r p r o v i d i n g more uns t r u c t u r e d program i n t e r f a c e s which always a l l o w the user t o decide what he needs next. In an a r t i c l e from Data Base, Theodore J . Mock 1 9 d e s c r i b e d \"A L o n g i t u d i n a l Study of Some Information S t r u c t u r e A l t e r n a t i v e s . \" Mock s t u d i e d user performance with v a r i o u s Accounting Information System models, with the o b j e c t i v e o f c o n s i d e r i n g the impact of s e v e r a l b e h a v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s and t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n s t r u c t u r e v a r i a b l e s upon d e c i s i o n makers* p r o f i t performance and l e a r n i n g p a t t e r n s . In summary, the f i r s t s e t of experiments d i d demonstrate the f e a s i b i l i t y of e x p e r i m e n t a l l y i n v e s t i g a t i n g expected d i f f e r e n c e s i n i n f o r m a t i o n s t r u c t u r e s and the impact of c e r t a i n b e h a v i o u r a l v a r i a b l e s . . . Experimental data which i m p l i e s the s i g n i f i c a n c e o f b e h a v i o u r a l f a c t o r s i n c r e a s e s v a l i d i t y of suggesting t a i l o r i z e d i n f o r m a t i o n systems f o r decison makers e x h i b i t i n g d i f f e r e n t b e h a v i o u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . 2 0 Another study, by Wynne and D i c k s o n , 2 1 looked a t \"Experienced Managers* Performance i n Experimental Man-Machine D e c i s i o n System S i m u l a t i o n . \" They were concerned with the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of Man-Machine D e c i s i o n I n f o r m a t i o n Systems (MHDIS), and ran experiments u s i n g an i n t e r a c t i v e s i m u l a t i o n program (which, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , was not e x p l i c i t l y d e s c r i b e d i n the a r t i c l e ) . A s a r e s u l t of t h e i r r e s e a r c h , Wynne and Dicksen reached two main c o n c l u s i o n s ; 10 F i r s t , the d i f f e r e n t i a l performance of s u b j e c t s i s r e l a t e d not only t o p e r s o n a l i t y v a r i a b l e s but a l s o t o i n f o r m a t i o n a c q u i s i t i o n and usaqe p a t t e r n s . . . I t appears from work thus f a r t h a t p e r s o n a l i t y and c o g n i t i v e s t y l e impact the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of HMDIS throuqh the s t r a t e g y o f system usage by the human. Second, the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of an 8MDIS must then be a f u n c t i o n of the ease (or d i f f i c u l t y ) with which the i n t e r a c t i v e computer program enables a d e c i s o n maker t o implement h i s p r e f e r r e d i n f o r m a t i o n handling s t r a t e q y . 2 2 In a paper e n t i t l e d \"The Impact o f C o q n i t i v e S t y l e s on Information System D e s i q n , \" 2 3 Benbasat and T a y l o r suqqested the f o l l o w i n g three g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s : 1. A n a l y t i c decison-maker types tend to p r e f e r d e c i s i o n a i d s and r e p o r t i n g systems which are q u a n t i t a t i v e i n nature with r e s u l t s supported with mathematical formulas. 2. H e u r i s t i c decision-makers need t o have more data search c a p a b i l i t i e s p r i o r to reachinq d e c i s i o n s . S i n c e they r e l y on feedback and t r i a l and e r r o r , an i n f o r m a t i o n system c a p a b i l i t y which can h i q h l i q h t t r e n d s and provide p e r i o d by p e r i o d comparisons would be s u i t a b l e f o r them. The i n f o r m a t i o n system should q i v e them c a p a b i l i t i e s to t r y a l t e r n a t i v e s o l u t i o n s and analyze the p o s s i b l e outcomes before they decide on t h e i r f i n a l approach to s o l v i n q the problem. 3. Decision-makers are a l s o d i f f e r e n t i n terms of t h e i r data g a t h e r i n g s t y l e s . The p r e c e p t i v e s would want a system which has c a p a b i l i t i e s of o r g a n i z i n g and aggregating data i n t o c a t e g o r i e s a c c o r d i n g to qiven parameters and e x c e p t i o n r e p o r t i n g a i d s , whereas the r e c e p t i v e s or maximal data u s e r s p r e f e r an i n f o r m a t i o n system which has access t o every p i e c e of h i s t o r i c a l d a t a . 2 * Turning now t o toward the area of r i s k a t t i t u d e , a paper by T a y l o r and D u n n e t t e 2 5 contained an i n t e r e s t i n g r e s u l t : Although r i s k - t a k i n g p r o p e n s i t y i n f l u e n c e d h e a v i l y both the amount of i n f o r m a t i o n processed and d e c i s i o n l a t e n c y , i t does not appear t h a t high r i s k -t a k e r s a t t a i n f a s t e r d e c i s i o n s by processing each item of i n f o r m a t i o n more r a p i d l y . . . Bather, i t would appear t h a t they are q u i t e d e l i b e r a t e i n 11 attempting to e x t r a c t as much va l u e as p o s s i b l e from the s m a l l e r s e t of i n f o r m a t i o n they examine. 2 * These r e s u l t s were from an i n d i v i d u a l l y and manually administered d e c i s i o n s i m u l a t i o n ; the research of t h i s t h e s i s provided an o p p o r t u n i t y t o consider the same hypotheses i n a computer environment. In another paper, on p s y c h o l o g i c a l determinants of bounded r a t i o n a l i t y , T a y l o r 2 7 p r o v i d e s examples c f more r i s k a t t i t u d e s t u d i e s , problem S o l u t i o n P r o t o c o l s In the area of s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s ( a l s o b r i e f l y c o n s i -dered i n t h i s t h e s i s ) , B a r r e t t ' s d e s c r i p t i o n of c o g n i t i v e s t y l e d e c i s i o n a p p r o a c h e s 2 9 was d i r e c t l y r e l e v a n t . B a r r e t t compared h e u r i s t i c and a n a l y t i c d e c i s i o n s t y l e s on f i v e dimensions. For example, with regard t o l e a r n i n g , i t was s a i d t h a t h e u r i s t i c s learned more by a c t i n g and placed emphasis on feedback; a n a l y t i c s l e a r n e d more by a n a l y z i n g and placed l e s s emphasis on feedback. In the area of search s t r a t e g y , h e u r i s t i c s used t r i a l and e r r o r , while a n a l y t i c s used f o r m a l r a t i o n a l a n a l y s i s . F i n a l l y , r e g a r d i n g approach t o a n a l y s i s , h e u r i s t i c s used common sense, i n t u i t i o n , and f e e l i n g s , whereas a n a l y t i c s developed e x p l i c i t models o f the s i t u a t i o n . The Jan-Machine I n t e r f a c e I t i s r e i t e r a t e d at t h i s time, that although t h i s t h e s i s looked at many of the concepts mentioned throughout t h i s c h apter, i t s o r i g i n a l purpose was to study the man-machine i n t e r f a c e a t a f a i r l y low l e v e l , with the o b j e c t i v e o f 12 r e a c h i n g some c o n c l u s i o n s about which i n t e r a c t i v e programming technigues are most h e l p f u l f o r users, and l e a s t l i k e l y to b i a s t h e i r behaviour. T h i s appeared to be an o r i g i n a l area of r e s e a r c h and, as s t a t e d e a r l i e r , was q u i t e untouched i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e . Many a r t i c l e s and books e x i s t e d which suggested the p h i l o s o p h i e s of v a r i o u s i n d i v i d u a l s and d e s c r i b e d working prototype systems, but few have e x p e r i m e n t a l l y t e s t e d the i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h e i r techniques f o r user performance and behaviour. The standard t e x t s , Han-Machine Communication by Meadow 2 9 and Design of Man-Computer Dialogues by M a r t i n , 3 0 provided some a s s i s t a n c e , although they were o f t e n too general or s o p h i s t i c a t e d t o be of d i r e c t a s s i s t a n c e i n normal, day-to-day s i t u a t i o n s . M a r t i n ' s t e x t , found by t h i s author t o be t h e more p r a c t i c a l of the two, d i d have one p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t chapter: chapter seven e x p l i c i t l y c o n s i d e r e d d i s p l a y methods f o r alphanumeric computer t e r m i n a l s with T V - l i k e screens: In t a c k l i n g an a p p l i c a t i o n , the systems a n a l y s t must make some b a s i c d e c i s i o n s about the s t r u c t u r e of the s c r e e n conversation...Twenty-three techniques of c o n v e r s a t i o n are i l l u s t r a t e d below. They have been given the names: 1. Simple query 2. Mnemonic techniques 3. English-language technigues 4. Programming-like statements 5. A c t i o n code systems 6. M u l t i p l e a c t i o n code systems 7. B u i l d i n g up a r e c o r d 8. S c r o l l techniques 9. Simple i n s t r u c t i o n to operator 10. M u l t i p l e i n s t r u c t i o n t o operator 11. Menu s e l e c t i o n 12. M u l t i s c r e e n menu 13. Telephone d i r e c t o r y technique 14. M u l t i p a r t menu 13 15. Multianswer menu 16. Use of d i s p l a y e d formats 17. V a r i a b l e - l e n g t h m u l t i p l e e n t r y 18. M u l t i p l e - f o r m a t statements 19. Form f i l l i n g 20. O v e r w r i t i n g 21. Panel m o d i f i c a t i o n techniques 22. T e x t - e d i t t i n q techniques 23. Hybrid d i a l o g u e 3 1 Martin then proceeded t o d e s c r i b e each of these methods i n very good d e t a i l but, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , too seldom r e a l l y i n d i c a t e d when each was a p p r o p r i a t e . So the systems a n a l y s t f i n d s h i m s e l f barraged with twenty-three very simple to very complex methods of de s i g n i n q a t e r m i n a l i n t e r f a c e , and can only quess which i s most a p p r o p r i a t e f o r h i s s i t u a t i o n . Throughout the remainder of t h i s t h e s i s , a p e r s o n a l philosophy o f man-machine i n t e r f a c e design i s presented, and the e f f e c t s of a s m a l l s et of man-machine i n t e r f a c e techniques upon v a r i o u s user types are i n v e s t i g a t e d . 14 Chapter Three THE COMPOTES PROGRAM Program D e s c r i p t i o n The primary t o o l f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h was a simple i n t e r a c t i v e computer game.„ D e t a i l s of the game w i l l be provided i n the next chapter; the user e n g i n e e r i n g a s p e c t s of the computer program are d e s c r i b e d next. The computer game was completely w r i t t e n i n FORTRAN (a l i s t i n g of the code appears i n Appendix A). The a c t u a l game i s o n l y a s m a l l P a r t of the program; a s i g n i f i c a n t amount o f programming was necessary t o achieve the d e s i r e d user i n t e r f a c e and c o l l e c t a l l the re g u i r e d data. I t was a l s o necessary to use a few su b r o u t i n e s from the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia Computing Centre subprogram l i b r a r y $ i n c l u d i n g timing r o u t i n e s , f i l e c o n t r o l r o u t i n e s , and a ch a r a c t e r comparison r o u t i n e . The game had two d i s t i n c t v e r s i o n s , both d e s c r i b e d i n d e t a i l i n chapter f o u r . B r i e f l y , one v e r s i o n was h i g h l y s t r u c t u r e d and l e d the user through the s i m u l a t i o n by l o o p i n g through a s e t of que s t i o n s ; and the other v e r s i o n was r a t h e r unstructured and expected the user to l e a d t h e s i m u l a t i o n by e n t e r i n q commands i n any order he l i k e d . To f a c i l i t a t e t h i s d u a l v e r s i o n concept, the prcqram had to be h i q h l y modular. The proqram was made up of a b r i e f main proqram* which c a l l e d one of two \" c o n t r o l \" s u b r o u t i n e s {to qet the a p p r o p r i a t e v e r s i o n ) , which i n turn c a l l e d a number o f the remaininq t en su b r o u t i n e s . 15 One of the ten s u b r o u t i n e s , READPF, Was c a l l e d a t the program s t a r t u p to read i n the p r o f i t f u n c t i o n (a 30 by 70 matr i x ) . Another s u b r o u t i n e , SIMUL, performed the a c t u a l s i m u l a t i o n of another p e r i o d ( i . e . another t r i a l ) . Three o f the s u b r o u t i n e s , GETLIM, GETLIT, and GETNUM, handled a l l t e r m i n a l i n p u t . One s u b r o u t i n e , OUTMES, was j u s t a c o l l e c t i o n of a l l output messages needed throughout the program; by gath e r i n g them i n one p l a c e , only one r o u t i n e needed to be recompiled whenever the user i n t e r f a c e was r e f i n e d . Three more r o u t i n e s , HISTRY, SORTH, and SGRAPH, d i s p l a y e d the th r e e a v a i l a b l e r e p o r t s . , F i n a l l y , the remaining r o u t i n e , ZEND, performed a l l end-of-game cleanup. In the s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n o f the game, the c o n t r o l subroutine simply c a l l e d the a p p r o p r i a t e s u b r o u t i n e s i n a p r e s c r i b e d order, as a continuous l o o p . In the u n s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n , the program waited f o r a command from the user, decoded i t , and c a l l e d the s p e c i f i e d r o u t i n e . Hence, the onl y e x t r a programming e f f o r t r e g u i r e d i n order t o provide two v e r s i o n s l a y i n the two (quite s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d ) c o n t r o l r o u t i n e s . User Engineering Methods The remainder of t h i s chapter d e s c r i b e s the user e n g i n e e r i n g aspects of the program. Although the approach i s a p e r s o n a l one developed through years of experi e n c e , the reader w i l l note t h a t the methods s a t i s f y many of the c r i t e r i a and s u g g e s t i o n s of iasserman and Hansen presented i n chapter 16 two. In d e s i g n i n g the a c t u a l i n p u t of responses and commands from the user, ease of use was given top p r i o r i t y . F i r s t , the need f o r memorization by users was minimized. In t h e unstru c t u r e d v e r s i o n , a l i s t of a l l commands - and b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n s of them - was a v a i l a b l e anytime. In both v e r s i o n s , a l l i n p u t prompts were of the same format, i l l u s t r a t e d by the f o l l o w i n g example: Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 1 0 ] : As can be seen, f i r s t the g u e s t i o n was asked, then the allowed response range was i n d i c a t e d i n parentheses, then the d e f a u l t value was i n d i c a t e d i n b r a c k e t s , the d e f a u l t value was the value which the computer would assume the user wanted i f he entered nothing e l s e ( i n t h i s c a s e , the p r i c e which he had chosen i n the p r e v i o u s p e r i o d ) , and was i n c l u d e d i n order to reduce r o u t i n e t y p i n g . F i n a l l y , to f u r t h e r e l i m i n a t e the need f o r memorization, complete h i s t o r i e s of a l l p r e v i o u s a c t i v i t y were a v a i l a b l e t o the user a t anytime. The program a l s o handled a l l i n p u t p r o c e s s i n g i t s e l f . T h i s way, a l l user e r r o r s were i n t e r c e p t e d by the program ( \" i d i o t - p r o o f i n g \" ) before the system software could f i n d i t and respond with some i l l e g i b l e message or i n t e r r u p t . In t h i s game, e r r o r s were responded t o by the simple statement I n c o r r e c t Input. Please He-enter. T h i s was f o l l o w e d by a repeat of the o r i g i n a l prompt, which o f course reminded the user of the g u e s t i o n , the allowed responses, and the c u r r e n t d e f a u l t value. 17 The program read a l l input as a s t r i n g of alphanumeric c h a r a c t e r s (up to 60 of them). The s t r i n g was scanned, c h a r a c t e r by c h a r a c t e r * up to t h e f i r s t blank or comma, and t h a t s u b s t r i n g was c o n s i d e r e d to be the response. I f there were more c h a r a c t e r s f o l l o w i n g the blank (or comma), they would be used as the response to the next prompt(s) - a l l o w i n g experienced users to type ahead, and save time and f r u s t r a t i o n . I f the o r i g i n a l prompt wanted an a l p h a b e t i c response, then only the f i r s t c h a r a c t e r was used ( s i n c e a l l commands and responses i n t h i s game begin with with d i f f e r e n t l e t t e r s ) - thereby p e r m i t t i n g u n l i m i t e d a b b r e v i a t i o n . I f the o r i g i n a l prompt wanted a numeric response, then the program converted the s u b s t r i n g to a number; a d m i t t e d l y , t h i s was awkward i n F0BT8AN, but s t i l l i n e x p e n s i v e and w e l l worthwhile f o r the user. F i n a l l y , the user needed to be p r o t e c t e d not only from h i m s e l f , but from the computer and the environment i n g e n e r a l . In the event of a computer crash or other major problem, the program had a s a v e / r e s t a r t f a c i l i t y . As the program r a n , i t wrote out a simple f i l e . I f anything caused the program t o h a l t , a s p e c i a l run parameter allowed the user to r e s t a r t the program at e x a c t l y where he l e f t o f f - as i f nothing had happened. I t i s q u i t e apparent t h a t these f e a t u r e s d i d not come without a c o s t . However, t h e r e i s no reason why the i n p u t p r o c e s s i n g r o u t i n e s c o u l d not have been designed as a package 18 to be l i n k e d with a l l other a p p l i c a t i o n programs needing i n t e r a c t i v e c a p a b i l i t i e s - an approach which would l i k e l y save programming c o s t s i n the f u t u r e . A l s o , the r o u t i n e s c o u l d be w r i t t e n i n a more a p p r o p r i a t e language (probably assembler), to i n c r e a s e t h e i r e f f i c i e n c y . T h i s i s not to say t h a t e f f i c i e n c y i s a c r i t i c a l i s s u e . Indeed, i n most cases, the amount of time a program spends pr o c e s s i n g user i n p u t would l i k e l y be only a s m a l l p a r t of the t o t a l c o s t of running any program, while the s a v i n g s i n user's time and f r u s t r a t i o n c o u l d be g u i t e s u b s t a n t i a l . 19 Chapter Four DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY P r e - t e s t i n g and C l a s s i f i c a t i o n The a c t u a l data c o l l e c t i o n f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h i n v o l v e d o b t a i n i n g p a r t i c i p a n t s , p r e - t e s t i n g them, a r r a n g i n g f o r them to play the computer game, and a u t o m a t i c a l l y (by computer) c o l l e c t i n g data on them as they played. There were f i f t y p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the experiment, v i r t u a l l y a l l of whom were students, and a l l of them v o l u n t e e r s (some l u r e d by the p o s s i b i l i t y o f winning one of f i v e cash p r i z e s ) . As was d e s i r e d , the p a r t i c i p a n t s were q u i t e d i v e r s e : some were undergraduates, others sere graduates; some had e x t e n s i v e experience with computers, while others had never been near one; some were from commerce programmes, others from e n g i n e e r i n g , and s t i l l o t h e rs from a r t s . , The e x p e r i e n c e d i f f e r e n c e was a c r u c i a l one to t h i s experiment (necessary f o r t e s t i n g the main hypotheses). As pa r t of the p r e - t e s t i n g f o r the game, p a r t i c i p a n t s completed a s h o r t q u e s t i o n n a i r e about t h e i r h i s t o r y o f contact with computers. As a r e s u l t of t h i s q u e s t i o n n a i r e , which simply asked people t h e i r year, f a c u l t y , number of times they had used computers v i a punched c a r d s , and number of times they had used o n - l i n e computer t e r m i n a l s , they were c l a s s i f i e d as experienced or i n e x p e r i e n c e d (novice) users of o n - l i n e computer systems. However, bear i n mind throuqhout t h i s t h e s i s t h a t the experience e f f e c t may be somewhat confounded: 20 experienced computer users o f t e n a l s o had more advanced mathematical t r a i n i n g than novices. Next, the Group Embedded F i g u r e s T e s t , 3 2 a timed p e n c i l and paper t e s t , was administered to the p a r t i c i p a n t s . The score on t h i s t e s t p r o v i d e d a i n d i c a t i o n of whether the p a r t i c i p a n t s d i s p l a y e d h e u r i s t i c or a n a l y t i c c o g n i t i v e s t y l e s (see chapter two f o r d e f i n i t i o n s of these terms). For purposes of t h i s r e s e a r c h , the group was d i v i d e d a t i t s mean (15 on a s c a l e of 18). Since t h i s i s a r a t h e r high d i v i s i o n v alue, i t i s more a p p r o p r i a t e t o say t h a t t h i s r e s e a r c h compares low and high a n a l y t i c s r a t h e r than pure h e u r i s t i c s and a n a l y t i c s . ,. F i n a l l y , the p a r t i c i p a n t s completed the Kogan and wallach r i s k q u e s t i o n n a i r e . 3 3 T h e i r s c o r e on the q u e s t i o n n a i r e provided a measure of t h e i r r i s k a t t i t u d e ; again, the group was s p l i t at i t s mean (30 on a s c a l e of 60) and c l a s s i f i e d as r i s k - t a k e r s or r i s k - a v e r t e r s . A l l of the above p r e - t e s t i n g was administered to groups of about ten over a three day p e r i o d , and each s e s s i o n took j u s t over 30 minutes to complete. As each s u b j e c t l e f t the p r e - t e s t i n g s e s s i o n , he s e l e c t e d a convenient time to play the computer game during the f o l l o w i n g week. A l s o as they l e f t the p r e - t e s t i n g s e s s i o n , p a r t i c i p a n t s were given a b r i e f s e t of i n s t r u c t i o n s (see Appendix B). These i n s t r u c t i o n s d i d not e x p l a i n the nature of the computer game; r a t h e r , they provided d i r e c t i o n s f o r using the computer t e r m i n a l s and s p e c i a l program f e a t u r e s . There was a s e p a r a t e set of i n s t r u c t i o n s 21 f o r each of the two v e r s i o n s of the game to which the s u b j e c t s had been randomly assigned., A d f l e i s t e r i n g the Game The a c t u a l process o f p l a y i n g and a d m i n i s t e r i n g the game i s d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s s e c t i o n . Throughout t h i s d i s c u s s i o n , the sample i n t e r a c t i o n s which appear i n Appendix C may be co n s u l t e d f o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f any vague p o i n t s . The p a r t i c i p a n t s played the computer game i n groups of three over the course o f one week. The game had a maximum time l i m i t of 30 minutes, a f t e r which i t terminated a u t o m a t i c a l l y . About on e - h a l f o f the s u b j e c t s f i n i s h e d b e f o r e exceeding the time l i m i t . When p l a y i n g t h e game, each p a r t i c i p a n t was i n s t r u c t e d a t the beginning that he was the manager of a one-product company and that he was expected t o seek the optimum q u a n t i t y o f preduct t o manufacture and the p r i c e to s e l l i t f o r ; that i s , he was to maximize h i s company's p r o f i t . Hence, p l a y i n g the game i n v o l v e d r e p e a t e d l y s e t t i n g d i f f e r e n t < p r i c e , quantity> combinations and s i m u l a t i n g the next p e r i o d t o get the r e s u l t i n g p r o f i t . I f a s u b j e c t found the maximum p r o f i t w i t h i n 30 minutes, the game \"rewarded\" him by informin g him with a l l manner of b e l l s and w h i s t l e s : the t e r m i n a l screen f i l l e d up with d o l l a r s i g n s and c o n g r a t u l a t e d the p l a y e r , while the t e r m i n a l b e l l beeped u n t i l stepped by the game a d m i n i s t r a t o r . A c t u a l l y , the same b e l l s and w h i s t l e s announced an apology t o those who ran out of time. T h i s net only served to a t t r a c t the game 22 a d m i n i s t r a t o r * s a t t e n t i o n , but appeared t o both amaze and please the p a r t i c i p a n t s . As the game proceeded, the p a r t i c i p a n t s had access t o any or a l l of thr e e r e p o r t s . The f i r s t was a simple h i s t o r y o f t h e i r d e c i s i o n s and p r o f i t s f o r the pre v i o u s 25 p e r i o d s . The second was a l s o a h i s t o r y r e p o r t , except that i t was ordered by decreasing p r o f i t . F i n a l l y , the t h i r d was a 3-dimensional graph which d i s p l a y e d P r o f i t / 1 0 ( i . e . one d i g i t ) f o r each p a i r simulated thus f a r . There are two sample game i n t e r a c t i o n s i n Appendix C, one f o r each of the two game v e r s i o n s . In the s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n , the user was e s s e n t i a l l y taken by the hand, and l e d through the game, step by st e p , i n a pr e d e f i n e d order. In the uns t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n , the user had more freedom t o proceed as he wished by e n t e r i n g any of s i x commands (to s e t p r i c e o r g u a n t i t y , simulate another p e r i o d , or look at the r e p o r t s ) . I t should be mentioned t h a t none of the s u b j e c t s had any d i f f i c u l t y i n us i n g the s t r u c t u r e d game v e r s i o n . In a d d i t i o n , p a r t i c i p a n t s with p r e v i o u s computer experience had no problems with the un s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n . However, novice s u b j e c t s o f t e n needed v e r b a l a s s i s t a n c e from the game a d m i n i s t r a t o r i n order to get s t a r t e d with the un s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n . The p r o f i t f u n c t i o n which the users were attempting t o maximize appears i n Appendix D. The b a s i c p r o f i t f u n c t i o n was the same f o r everyone; however, the p o s i t i o n of the optimum p r o f i t was generated randomly a t program s t a r t u p . Thus, f o r each p a r t i c i p a n t , the optimum p r o f i t 23 occured at a randomly set p r i c e between 5 and 25, and at a qu a n t i t y between 15 and 55. Si n c e the f u n c t i o n d i d not change shape, but o n l y moved, and s i n c e each person c o u l d search anywhere he wished, these s t e p s should not have made the game more d i f f i c u l t f o r some s u b j e c t s , a l s o , the p r o f i t v a l u e s were s c a l e d by another randomly generated c o n s t a n t t o values between 70 and 99. These steps e s s e n t i a l l y made the game d i f f e r e n t f o r each p a r t i c i p a n t and t h e r e f o r e e l i m i n a t e d any p o s s i b i l i t y of c o l l u s i o n . Data C o l l e c t i o n As the p a r t i c i p a n t s played the game, the program a u t o m a t i c a l l y c o l l e c t e d data about t h e i r performance and use of program f e a t u r e s . For each p e r i o d , i n f o r m a t i o n was recorded about: the amount of time taken t o complete i t ; the chosen p r i c e , q u a n t i t y , and r e s u l t i n g p r o f i t ; number o f commands executed; number o f d e f a u l t s taken; number of e r r o r s made; extent of i n p u t a b b r e v i a t i o n ; amount of use made of typeahead o p t i o n ; u t i l i z a t i o n of each r e p o r t ; and other a s p e c t s . A l i s t i n g of a sample output f i l e f o r one p a r t i c i p a n t appears i n Appendix E. A d d i t i o n a l data was c o l l e c t e d about each p a r t i c i p a n t ' s a t t i t u d e as he played. A f t e r p e r i o d s 5, 10, 15, ... (note l i n e code 2 i n the sample data f i l e i n Appendix E) , the normal flew of a c t i v i t y i n the game was i n t e r r u p t e d by a b r i e f q u e s t i o n n a i r e to get the us e r ' s c o n f i d e n c e l e v e l , r a t i n g o f the program u s a b i l i t y , and enjoyment l e v e l (see the sample i n t e r a c t i o n s i n Appendix C). 24 The data c o l l e c t e d a l s o contained a machine-readable s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l f o r each p a r t i c i p a n t , i n d i c a t i n g e x a c t l y how each s u b j e c t moved through the two-dimensional space i n s e a r c h of the optimum p r o f i t . I t was found t h a t by p l o t t i n g the p a i r s i n order of s i m u l a t i o n (as i n Appendix F) and then connecting the dots, one c o u l d d e t e c t whether users employed a random s e a r c h , a s t r u c t u r e d t r i a l and e r r o r , or a b i n a r y search or other w e l l - d e f i n e d a l g o r i t h m , a l l of which w i l l be d i s c u s s e d more completely i n chapter s i x . In the remainder o f t h i s t h e s i s , the output r e s u l t s f o r the f i f t y p a r t i c i p a n t s are presented and d i s c u s s e d . 25 Chapter J i v e THE HYPOTHESES I n t r o d u c t i o n Before the f i n a l r e s u l t s are analyz e d , t h i s chapter b r i e f l y i n t r o d u c e s the hypotheses which were being t e s t e d . Although the data from t h i s game provides numerous p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r a n a l y s i s , the 26 hypotheses of t h i s c h a p t e r were the major m o t i v a t i o n s f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h and w i l l r e c e i v e most of the a t t e n t i o n throughout the remainder of t h i s t h e s i s . Since t h i s i s e x p l o r a t o r y r e s e a r c h , some of the hypotheses have no strong t h e o r e t i c a l b a s i s ; however, other hypotheses do attempt to v e r i f y the f i n d i n g s of ot h e r s , In t h i s c h a p t e r , the hypotheses w i l l simply be s t a t e d , with d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s and c o n n e c t i o n t o pre v i o u s r e s e a r c h to f o l l o w i n the next chapter. In n e a r l y a l l of the hypotheses, t h e r e are fo u r independent v a r i a b l e s , each a t two l e v e l s : game v e r s i o n ( s t r u c t u r e d or u n s t r u c t u r e d ) , experience l e v e l (novice o r exp e r i e n c e d ) , c o g n i t i v e s t y l e (low a n a l y t i c or high a n a l y t i c ) , and r i s k a t t i t u d e ( r i s k - a v e r t e r or r i s k - t a k e r ) . For s i m p l i c i t y , these v a r i a b l e s w i l l be c a l l e d Mode, Exp, S t y l e , anc B i s k , r e s p e c t i v e l y . Ferformance and Game V e r s i o n The f i r s t category o f hypotheses i s r e l a t e d to g e n e r a l user performance and the two game v e r s i o n s . The f i r s t h y p o t h esis i s r a t h e r s p e c i a l , and i s assigned the number zero t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e i t from the r e s t . 26 S l £ 2_ k § _ i S 2. ~ Everyone w i l l enjoy p l a y i n g the game. Hypothesis J. - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the average t i n e spent p l a y i n g each p e r i o d . Hypothesis 2 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t whether the s u b j e c t s f i n i s h w i t h i n the 30 minute time l i m i t . Hypothesis 3 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the average confidence l e v e l o f the p a r t i c i p a n t s . SXEothesis 4 - Uns t r u c t u r e d game v e r s i o n p l a y e r s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n p l a y e r s . Hypothesis 5 - Experienced p l a y e r s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than n o v i c e s . Hypothesis 6 - High a n a l y t i c s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than low a n a l y t i c s . Hypothesis 7 - R i s k - t a k e r s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than r i s k - a v e r t e r s . Hypothesis 8 - The Mode/Exp i n t e r a c t i o n w i l l a f f e c t the e r r o r r a t e of the p a r t i c i p a n t s . S p e c i a l Program f e a t u r e s The next category of hypotheses i s r e l a t e d to the use of s p e c i a l program f e a t u r e s , such as d e f a u l t values and a b b r e v i a t i o n s . Hypothesis 9 - The d e f a u l t values f o r p r i c e and g u a n t i t y (at the beginning o f the game) w i l l i n f l u e n c e most users. Hypothesis _0 - S e t t i n g the d e f a u l t response f o r 27 qu e s t i o n s (about the user ' s d e s i r e t o see v a r i o u s r e p o r t s ) t o •yes 1 r a t h e r than 'no' s i l l not i n f l u e n c e the p a r t i c i p a n t ' s a c t u a l response. Hypothesis H - Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t whether users accept d e f a u l t values (when a p p r o p r i a t e ) . Hypothesis J2 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the extent t o which users a b b r e v i a t e commands. Hypothesis 13 - The l e n g t h of commands w i l l be the main f a c t o r a f f e c t i n g the extent t o which they are a b b r e v i a t e d by users. Comparisons over Time The t h i r d c ategory o f hypotheses i s with regard t o comparisons over time, and i n d i c a t e s expected d i f f e r e n c e s between behaviour d u r i n g the beginning of the game and du r i n g the remainder of the game. HyjLothesis 14 - Average time spent p l a y i n g each p e r i o d w i l l decrease with time. Hypothesis 15 - User confidence w i l l i n c r e a s e with time. fllfifithesis 16 - User r a t i n g s of the u s a b i l i t y of the computer program w i l l improve with time. Hypothesis 17 - The extent o f a b b r e v i a t i o n by uns t r u c -tured game p l a y e r s w i l l i n c r e a s e with time. Hypothesis 18 - Usage o f H i s t o r y r e p o r t s w i l l decrease with time. Hypothesis 19 - Usage of Ordered H i s t o r y r e p o r t s s i l l decrease with time. fiy.J22th.esis 20 - Usage of Graphs w i l l i n c r e a s e with time. 28 Regort Usage and S o l u t i o n P r o t o c o l s These l a s t f i v e hypotheses concern e i t h e r the usage o f r e p o r t s or s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l dimensions. Hypothesis 21 - Mode, Exp, and S t y l e s i l l a l l a f f e c t the use cf H i s t o r y r e p o r t s . Hypothesis 22 - Mode, Exp, and S t y l e w i l l a l l a f f e c t the use of Ordered H i s t o r y r e p o r t s . Hypothesis 23 - Mode, Exp, and S t y l e w i l l a l l a f f e c t the use c f Graphs. Hypothesis 24 - Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t whether users d i s p l a y e d a s t r u c t u r e d approach t o s o l v i n g the problem (with the emphasis on S t y l e ) . Hypothesis 25 - Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the amount of d i s p e r s i o n d i s p l a y e d i n the search f o r the optimum (with the emphasis again on S t y l e ) . The l a s t two hypotheses are e x p l a i n e d i n more d e t a i l i n c h a p t e r s i x . The r e s u l t s of the t e s t s of a l l these hypotheses are presented and analyzed i n the next chapter, A summary of the r e s u l t s appears i n Appendix G. 29 Chapter -Six ANALYSIS OF RESULTS DaJS P r e p a r a t i o n Before the game data could be s t a t i s t i c a l l y a n a l y z e d , i t had t o be converted t o a more convenient form. Thus the output f i l e s f o r each of the 50 p a r t i c i p a n t s were compressed i n t o one l i n e each, y i e l d i n g one f i l e with 50 very l o n g l i n e s . To d e r i v e t h i s new f i l e , some v a r i a b l e s were simply copied d i r e c t l y from the o r i g i n a l f i l e , others were summations of o r i g i n a l data ( f o r example, t o t a l time p l a y i n g the game), others were averages (user c o n f i d e n c e ) , o t h e r s were e x t r a c t i o n s (minutes per perio d f o r the f i r s t 10 p e r i o d s ) , and s t i l l o thers were r e s u l t s normalized to 100 ( f o r example, the number c f graphs requested per 100 p e r i o d s ) . As mentioned i n chapter f i v e , n e a r l y a l l of the hypotheses i n v o l v e the f o l l o w i n g four t w o - l e v e l v a r i a b l e s : game v e r s i o n (1=structured, 2=unstructured), e x p e r i e n c e l e v e l (1=novice, 2=experienced), c o g n i t i v e s t y l e (1=low a n a l y t i c , 2=high a n a l y t i c ) , and r i s k a t t i t u d e ( 1 = r i s k - a v e r t e r , 2=risk-t a k e r ) . Again, f o r s i m p l i c i t y , these v a r i a b l e s w i l l be r e f e r r e d t o as Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Bisk, r e s p e c t i v e l y . S t a t i s t i c a l A n a l y s i s Three b a s i c types of a n a l y s i s were Performed i n t h i s a n a l y s i s , a l l of them u s i n g the S t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the S o c i a l S ciences (SPSS). 3* Since most hypotheses were concerned with determining which f a c t o r s (independent v a r i a b l e s ) most a f f e c t e d a given game outcome (dependent v a r i a b l e ) , an 30 a n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e (ANOVA) was employed to t e s t these hypotheses, using the AUOVA r o u t i n e i n SPSS. In most ca s e s , e i t h e r a three-way or four-way c l a s s i f i c a t i o n (with three-way and four-way i n t e r a c t i o n s assumed to be zero) was used. The general model f o r the three-way c l a s s i f i c a t i o n was y = a • b1x1 *• b2x2 + b3x3 * d x 1 x 2 • c2x1x3 + c3x2x3 • e where y was the dependent v a r i a b l e , a was the o v e r a l l mean, xN were the independent v a r i a b l e s , bN were the main e f f e c t s , cN were the i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s , and e was the e r r o r terra. The model f o r the four-way c l a s s i f i c a t i o n was the same, except with f o u r main e f f e c t s and s i x i n t e r a c t i o n e f f e c t s . Other hypotheses were concerned with how two groups of s u b j e c t s d i f f e r e d on an i n d i v i d u a l v a r i a b l e . In these c a s e s , two mean values were to be compared, so o n e - t a i l e d t - t e s t s were used to t e s t the hypothesized r e l a t i o n s h i p s . The SPSS T-TEST r o u t i n e , with cases c l a s s i f i e d i n t o two groups, was used t o perform the t e s t , using a pooled v a r i a n c e ( s i n c e the two p o p u l a t i o n v a r i a n c e s were assumed to be d i f f e r e n t ) . The remaining hypotheses ( a l l r e l a t e d to Comparisons over Time) i n v o l v e d the comparison of two v a r i a b l e s over a l l s u b j e c t s ; p a i r e d t - t e s t s were employed to t e s t these hypotheses. Again, the SPSS T-TEST r o u t i n e was used t o perform the t e s t ; however, t h i s time p a i r e d o b s e r v a t i o n s were s p e c i f i e d * In the a nalyses to f o l l o w , the SPSS r e s u l t s are reproduced i n t h e i r standard formats. The a n a l y s i s o f var i a n c e t a b l e s d i s p l a y the main e f f e c t s and the 2-way i n t e r a c t i o n s (expressed as \" v a r i a b l e / v a r i a b l e \" ) . 31 Hypotheses about Performance The r e s u l t s concerning hypothesis 0 - Everyone w i l l enjoy p l a y i n g the game - were e s p e c i a l l y encouraging. Throughout the e n t i r e game, the mean enjoyment l e v e l f o r a l l p l a y e r s was 7.0 on a s c a l e o f 1 to 9, where labored and 9=enjoying the game (see the sample a t t i t u d e q u e s t i o n n a i r e i n appendix C ) . T h i s was important because i t added credence t o the game r e s u l t s : s u b j e c t s d i d not j u s t go through the motions to get the game over with; they a c t u a l l y enjoyed the game and q u i t e probably \"played t o win,\" An a n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e was c a r r i e d out to see whether any p a r t i c u l a r user types enjoyed the game more than o t h e r s . , As can be seen i n t a b l e 1, none of the four independent v a r i a b l e s was s i g n i f i c a n t ; indeed, the o v e r a l l s i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l was o n l y 0,71, < ^ SOURCE VAR. S.SQ. DF. , M. SQ. F SIGNXF. Mode 0.64 ! 0.64 0.33 0.57 Exp 0.04 1 0.04 0.02 0.89 S t y l e 0.35 1 0.35 0. 18 0.67 Bisk 0.47 1 0.47 0.24 0.63 Mode/Exp 0.40 1 . 0.40 0.20 0.65 Mode/Style 0.45 1 0.45 0.23 0.64 Mode/Bisk 0.06 1 0.06 0.03 0. 87 Exp/Style 2,08 1 2.08 1.06 0.31 Exp/Risk 9.08 1 9.08 4.64 0.04** S t y l e / R i s k 0.24 1 0.24 0. 12 0.73 Explained 13.82 10 1 .38 0.71 0.71 Re s i d u a l 76. 18 39 1.95 T o t a l 90.00 49 1.84 1 J Table 1. ANOVA - Game Enjoyment The a n a l y s i s o f hypothesis 1 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk 32 w i l l a l l a f f e c t the average time spent p l a y i n g each p e r i o d -i s presented i n t a b l e 2. Nei t h e r game v e r s i o n nor c o g n i t i v e s t y l e impacted p l a y i n g speed. However, r i s k a t t i t u d e and experience both had a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t upon the number of minutes spent p l a y i n g each peri o d (these two f a c t o r s w i l l be i n v e s t i g a t e d i n more d e t a i l i n hypotheses 5 and 7 ) . SOURCE VAR. S.SQ. DF. M.SQ. , F SIGNIF. Mode 112.68 1 . 112.68 0.14 0.71 Exp 2321.79 1 2321.79 2.96 0.09** S t y l e 255.99 1 255.99 0.33 0.57 Risk 3154.83 1 3154.83 4. 02 0.0 5** Mode/Exp 168.27 1 168.27 0.21 0.65 Bode/Style 572.40 1 572.40 0.73 0.40 Mode/Bisk 137. 12 1 137.12 0.18 0.68 Exp/Style 225.70 1 225.70 0.29 0.60 Exp/Risk 2152.16 1 2152 .16 2 .74 0.11* S t y l e / R i s k 348.61 1 348.61 0.44 0.51 Explained 10124.80 10 1012.48 1.29 0.27 Res i d u a l 30601.30 39 784.65 T o t a l 40726. 10 49 831.14 Table 2. ANOVA - Minutes/Period Table 3 d i s p l a y s the a n a l y s i s of variance f o r hypothesis 2 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and R i s k w i l l a l l a f f e c t whether the s u b j e c t s f i n i s h w i t h i n the 30 minute time l i m i t . Again, the r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e d t h a t game v e r s i o n had no e f f e c t whatsoever. C o g n i t i v e s t y l e and r i s k a t t i t u d e were a l s o i n s i g n i f i c a n t , while experience l e v e l was h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t game t e r m i n a t i o n was almost completely determined by the experience l e v e l of the p l a y e r s (see hypothesis 5 f o r more d e t a i l s ) . T h i s suggests t h a t r e s e a r c h e r s should be extremely 33 wary of t h i s f a c t o r when c a r r y i n g out experiments using on-l i n e computer t e r m i n a l s . I ______ _ : -J SGOBCE VAB. S.SQ. DF. 1. SQ. Mode Exp S t y l e Bisk 0.00 3.28 0.29 0.21 0.00 3.28 0.29 0.21 0.00 16.75 1.46 1.08 Mode/Exp Mode/Style Mode/Bisk Exp/Style Exp/Bisk S t y l e / B i s k Explained B e s i d u a l T o t a l 0.05 0.08 0.06 0. 33 0.14 0.01 4.83 7.65 12.48 Table 3. 10 39 49 ANOVA -0.05 0.08 0.06 0.33 0.14 0.01 0.48 0.20 0.26 Termination 0.24 0.39 0.32 1.73 0.73 0.05 on Time SIGNIF. 1.00 0.00** 0.23 0.31 0.62 0.54 0. 57 0.20 0.40 0.83 2.46 0.02 Hypothesis 3 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Bi s k w i l l a l l a f f e c t the average c o n f i d e n c e l e v e l of the p a r t i c i p a n t s - was t e s t e d next. As the a n a l y s i s ( t a b l e 4) demonstrates, game v e r s i o n was once again h i g h l y i n s i g n i f i c a n t ; r i s k a t t i t u d e had a weak l e v e l o f s i g n i f i c a n c e . , Experience again seemed t o have a str o n g i n f l u e n c e upon c o n f i d e n c e , and c o g n i t i v e s t y l e a l s o appeared as an important f a c t o r (hypothesis 6 w i l l i n v e s t i g a t e t h i s f u r t h e r ) . Having t e s t e d the th r e e general hypotheses about performance, the next four hypotheses i n v e s t i g a t e t h i s area a t a more d e t a i l e d l e v e l . The a n a l y s i s f o r hypotheses 4 through 7 appears i n t a b l e 5. While the previous ANOVAs i n d i c a t e d the r e l a t i v e importance of the f a c t o r s when considered t o g e t h e r . 34 SOURCE VAB. S. SQ. DF. M. SQ. F SIGNIF. Mode 1.60 1 . 1.60 0.01 0.95 Exp 2409.76 1 2409.76 6.99 0.01** S t y l e 1145.42 1 1145.42 3.32 0.08** Bisk 910.34 1 910.34 2.64 0,11* Mode/Exp 23.79 1 23.79 0.07 0.79 Mode/Style 101.21 1 101.21 0.29 0.59 Mode/Bisk 556.72 1 556.72 •1.62 0.21 Exp/Style 172.51 1 172.51 0.50 0.48 Exp/Risk 9.51 1 9.51 0.03 0.87 S t y l e / B i s k 448.38 1 448.38 1.30 0.26 Explained 6678.06 10 667.81 1. 94 0.07 B e s i d u a l 13437.94 39 344.56 T o t a l 20116.00 49 410.53 Table 4. ANOVA- Confidence L e v e l the t - t e s t s to f o l l o w w i l l t e s t t h e hypothesized d i f f e r e n c e s between groups on a s i n g l e v a r i a b l e , and the d i r e c t i o n s o f those d i f f e r e n c e s . In t a b l e 5, the v a r i a b l e Term, (termination) i s a t w o - l e v e l v a r i a b l e i n d i c a t i n g whether people f i n i s h e d on time (Term.=0) or not (Term. = 1). The p l a y i n g speed v a r i a b l e , Min/Per., i s the number of minutes spent p l a y i n g each p e r i o d . F i n a l l y , C o n f i d . (user confidence) i n d i c a t e s the number o f people (out o f 100) whom us e r s thought were performing b e t t e r than them (see the a t t i t u d e g u e s t i o n n a i r e example i n appendix C ). Hypothesis 4 - U n s t r u c t u r e d game v e r s i o n p l a y e r s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n p l a y e r s - was t e s t e d by the f i r s t 3 t - t e s t s i n t a b l e 5, where i t was seen that t h i s h y p o t h e s i s was completely r e j e c t e d . C o n s i s t e n t w i t h the f i n d i n g s of the 35 1 J VARIABLE GROUPING # MEAN ST DEV. T PROB J Term. S t r u c t . U n s t r u c t . 24 26 0.50 0.46 0.51 0.51 0.27 0.34 I Min/Per. S t r u c t . Unstruct. 24 26 0.77 0.78 0.33 0.25 -0.22 0.41 j C c n f i d . i S t r u c t . Unstruct. 24 26 40.88 39.73 24.35 16.02 0.20 0.42 r - I Term. Novice Exper. 30 20 0.70 0.15 0.47 0.37 4.44 0.00** j Bin/Per. Novice Exper. 30 20 0. 84 0.69 0.33 0.19 1.84 0.04** | C c n f i d . Novice Exper. 30 20 46.57 30.85 17.48 20.89 2.88 0.00** J Term. High-anal. Lou-anal. 21 29 0. 38 0.62 0.49 0.50 -1.69 0.05** I Min/per. High-anal. Low-anal. 21 29 0.74 0. 83 0.24 0.35 -1.06 0. 15* | C o n f i d . High-anal. Low-anal. 21 29 34. 83 47.81 20.67 17.46 -2.34 0.01** I Term, R i s k - t a k e r R-averter 19 31 0.37 0.55 0.50 0. 51 -1.23 0. 11* I Min/Per. R i s k - t a k e r R-averter 19 31 0.67 0.84 0.18 0.32 -2.20 0.0 2** I C o n f i d . t — _ R i s k - t a k e r R-averter 19 31 33.42 44. 48 16.65 21.36 - 1.93 0.03** Table 5. T-TESTS - Performance and S t r u c t u r e ANOVAs, game v e r s i o n had no s i g n i f i c a n t impact upon the v a r i a b l e s speed, t e r m i n a t i o n , and con f i d e n c e . T h i s would seem to c o n t r a d i c t the c l a i m of the unstructured game v e r s i o n ' s s u p e r i o r i t y ; however, i t i s q u i t e l i k e l y t h a t t h i s game was j u s t too simple t o provide a s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n freedom 36 between the two v e r s i o n s . A c t u a l l y , o b s e r v a t i o n by the game a d m i n i s t r a t o r , problems with s t a r t i n g novice p a r t i c i p a n t s p l a y i n g , and v e r b a l comments from the p a r t i c i p a n t s a l l i n d i c a t e d a g r e a t e r d i f f e r e n c e than i m p l i e d i n t a b l e 5; novices appeared t o have more t r o u b l e with the u n s t r u c t u r e d game than experienced p l a y e r s . The f o u r t h through s i x t h rows i n t a b l e 5 t e s t e d hypothesis 5 - Experienced p l a y e r s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than n o v i c e s . As expected, t h i s h y p o thesis was s t r o n g l y supported, again i n d i c a t i n g that e xperience i s a f a c t o r which should be s e r i o u s l y accounted f o r i n a l l computer experiments. These r e s u l t s are s i m i l a r t o the f i n d i n g s of MacCrimmon, 3 S who concluded t h a t \"experienced i n d i v i d u a l s seemed to be the most d e s i r a b l e s u b j e c t s t o u t i l i z e i n d e c i s i o n making experiments and r e s e a r c h . \" 3 * The a n a l y s i s f o r hypothesis 6 - High a n a l y t i c s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than low a n a l y t i c s - was provided by t - t e s t s 7 through 9. The hypothesis was only weakly s i g n i f i c a n t on the speed v a r i a b l e , but t e r m i n a t i o n and co n f i d e n c e both d i s p l a y e d h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between groups. These r e s u l t s were g e n e r a l l y c o n s i s t e n t with the c o n c l u s i o n s o f Benbasat and T a y l o r {see chapter two). The t e s t of hypothesis 7 - R i s k - t a k e r s w i l l be f a s t e r , f i n i s h more o f t e n , and be more c o n f i d e n t than r i s k - a v e r t e r s was provided by the l a s t three t e s t s i n t a b l e 5. Speed and confidence showed very s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s between groups. 37 while t e r m i n a t i o n was l e s s s i g n i f i c a n t . T h i s would seem t o c o n t r a d i c t the f i n d i n g s of T a y l o r and Dunnette, e s p e c i a l l y with r e s p e c t t o time per p e r i o d (see chapter two). T h i s , however, needs f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n c e t h e i r r e s e a r c h i n v o l v e d decision-making i n a ncn-computerized environment. The l a s t h y p o t h e s i s of t h i s s e c t i o n t e s t e d the b e l i e f t h a t novices would have d i f f i c u l t y with the u n s t r u c t u r e d game v e r s i o n , and would d i s p l a y i t through an i n c r e a s e d e r r o r r a t e . Hypothesis 8 - The Mode/Exp i n t e r a c t i o n w i l l a f f e c t the e r r o r r a t e of the p a r t i c i p a n t s - was analyzed by the ft NOVft i n f a b l e 6. C l e a r l y , t h e r e were no h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a b l e s , and the hypothesis was r e j e c t e d ( i t may we l l be t h a t n o v i c e s compensated any d i f i c u l t i e s by devoting i n c r e a s e d thought and ca r e t o each move they made, a p o s s i b i l i t y which was supported by the p l a y i n g speed f i n d i n g s ) . The l a c k of s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t s was p o s s i b l y caused by the f a c t t h a t very few e r r o r s were made i n the game. Out of 50 p a r t i c i p a n t s , o n l y 11 made any e r r o r s anywhere i n the game; seven low a n a l y t i c s averaged l e s s than 5 e r r o r s per 100 p e r i o d s , and fou r high a n a l y t i c s averaged 2 e r r o r s per 100 p e r i o d s (where up to 6 i n p u t s were entered each p e r i o d ) . SlEotheses about the use o f S p e c i a l Program Features L i k e hypothesis 0, hypothesis 9 - The d e f a u l t v a l u e s f o r p r i c e and g u a n t i t y (at the beginning of the game) w i l l i n f l u e n c e most users - was t e s t e d by simple count. I t was found i n t h i s experiment that 28 of the 50 p a r t i c i p a n t s accepted at l e a s t one o f the opening d e f a u l t values (values 38 i 1 SCOECE VAR. S.SQ. , DF. M. SQ. F SIGJ3IF. Hode 15.34 1 15.34 0.63 0.43 Exp 20.77 1 20.77 0.85 0.36 S t y l e 66.26 1 66.26 2.70 0. 11* B i s k 5.76 1 5.76 0.24 0.63 Mode/Exp 4.96 1 4.96 0.20 0.66 Mode/Style 22.15 1 22.15 0.90 0.35 Bode/Risk 2.37 1 2.37 0.10 0.76 Exp/Style 41.06 1 41.06 1 .68 0.20 Exp/Risk 0.02 1 0.02 0.00 0.98 S t y l e / R i s k 6.47 1 6.47 0.26 0.61 Explained 221.78 10 22.18 0.90 0.35 Residual 872.64 39 22.37 T o t a l ., . , . , , , , 1096.42 49 22.38 Table 6. A NOV A - E r r o r r a t e which o r i g i n a l l y were a r b i t r a r i l y s e l e c t e d ) . , T h i s seemed t o i n d i c a t e that i n u n f a m i l i a r s i t u a t i o n s (where the user was u n c e r t a i n about e x a c t l y what to do n e x t ) , he was l i k e l y to accept d e f a u l t values r a t h e r than make h i s own d e c i s i o n s . To i n v e s t i g a t e whether any p a r t i c u l a r user types were more l i k e l y to accept these opening d e f a u l t s , an a n a l y s i s o f varia n c e was performed. As i n d i c a t e d i n t a b l e 7, there were no s i g n i f i c a n t sources of v a r i a n c e . Hypothesis 10 - S e t t i n g the d e f a u l t response f o r que s t i o n s (about the user's d e s i r e to see v a r i o u s r e p o r t s ) t o 'yes' r a t h e r than 'no* w i l l not i n f l u e n c e the p a r t i c i p a n t ' s a c t u a l response - was the next t o be t e s t e d . To do so, AMOVAs were performed f o r three v a r i a b l e s : use of H i s t o r y r e p o r t s , use of Ordered H i s t o r y r e p o r t s , and use of Graphs. The assumption was that p l a y e r s with *yes» d e f a u l t s would look a t 39 i : ' 1 | SOUBCE VAB. S.SQ. , DF. M. SQ. F SIGBIF. Mode 0. 63 1 0.63 0 .70 0.41 1 Sxp 0. 34 1 0.34 0 ,38 0.54 S t y l e 0. 65 1 0.65 0 .72 0.4C Bisk 0. 07 1 0.07 0 . 08 0.78 Mode/Exp •1. 59 1 1.59 1 .78 0.19 Mode/Style 0. 30 1 0.30 0 , 33 0.57 Mode/Bisk 0. 11 1 0.11 0 .12 0.73 Exp/Style 0. 51 1 0.51 0 .57 0.46 Exp/Bisk 0. 54 1 0.54 0 .61 0.4 4 S t y l e / B i s k 0. 52 1 0.52 0 .58 0.45 E x p l a i n e d 5. 18 10 0.52 0 . 59 0.75 B e s i d u a l 34. 50 39 0.90 T o t a l _ 39. 68 49 0,81 Table 7. ANOVA - Opening D e f a u l t s more r e p o r t s than p l a y e r s with \"no* d e f a u l t s ; hence. D e f a u l t -value ( l ^ ' y e s * , 2=*no') was one of the independent v a r i a b l e s i n the t h r e e ANOVAs, Tc conserve space, the SPSS r e s u l t s are not p r o v i d e d , but i n a l l t h r e e cases D e f a u l t - v a l u e was found to be a very i n s i g n i f i c a n t source of v a r i a n c e {ranging from l e v e l 0.47 t c l e v e l 0.97). The i m p l i c a t i o n was t h a t i n f a m i l i a r circumstances (where the user was g u i t e sure of what to do n e x t ) , d e f a u l t v a l u e s had no i n f l u e n c e upon the user's d e c i s i o n s . The a n a l y s i s f o r hypothesis 11 - Exp, S t y l e , and B i s k w i l l a l l a f f e c t whether users accept d e f a u l t values - appears i n t a b l e 8. I t can be seen t h a t c o g n i t i v e s t y l e turned out to be very s i g n i f i c a n t , while n e i t h e r experience nor r i s k a t t i t u d e had any a f f e c t . S u r p r i s i n g l y , on average, high a n a l y t i c s made the l e a s t use c f the d e f a u l t v a l u e s ; i n f a c t * 40 out o f every 100 p e r i o d s they avoided 58 d e f a u l t s which they co u l d have accepted, while low a n a l y t i c s avoided only about 3. T h i s i s a very d i f f i c u l t r e s u l t t o e x p l a i n , and cou l d c e r t a i n l y use f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n . i 1 SOURCE VSR. S.SQ. , DF. H.SQ. F SIGNIF. Exp 261.02 1 261.02 0.06 0.81 S t y l e 19007.54 1 19007.54 4 .38 0.0 5** Risk 6805.41 1 6805.41 1.57 0.23 Exp/Style 143.20 1 143.20 0.03 0.86 Exp/Risk 4515.86 1 4515.86 1.04 0.32 S t y l e / R i s k 8428.04 1 8428.04 1 .94 0.18 Explained 38531.88 6 6421.98 1 .48 0.24 Residual 73718.50 17 4336.38 T o t a l 1 12250.38 23 4880.45 Table 8. AHOVA - Acceptance of D e f a u l t s A n a l y s i s of v a r i a n c e was a l s o used t o t e s t h y p o t h e s i s Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the extent to which users a b b r e v i a t e commands. The r e s u l t s ( t a b l e 9) showed game v e r s i o n and r i s k a t t i t u d e both t o be very s i g n i f i c a n t . The s i g n i f i c a n c e of the game v e r s i o n f a c t o r could be e x p l a i n e d by the p h y s i c a l d i f f e r e n c e between the two v e r s i o n s . The r i s k a t t i t u d e f a c t o r was more i n t e r e s t i n g : r i s k - a v e r t e r s a bbreviated to s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s extent than r i s k - t a k e r s (on average, t y p i n g 55 of every 100 c h a r a c t e r s p o s s i b l e , versus 35 of every 100 c h a r a c t e r s f o r r i s k - t a k e r s ) . T h i s may i n d i c a t e a f e a r of t r y i n g a f e a t u r e they do not understand, or a m i s t r u s t of the computer to i n t e r p r e t t h e i r a b b r e v i a t i o n s c o r r e c t l y . The l a s t h y p o thesis r e g a r d i n g program f e a t u r e s was 41 t — 1 SODBCE VAB. S. SQ. , DF. M.SQ. F SIGNIF. Mode 6726.46 1 . 6726.46 7.49 0.01** Exp 642.78 1 642.78 0.72 0.40 S t y l e 665.26 1 665.26 0.74 0.40 Bisk 3898.38 1 3898.38 4.34 0.0 4** Mode/Exp 1062.67 1062.67 •1.18 0.28 Mode/Style 336.99 1 336.99 0.38 0.54 Mode/Bisk 512.94 1 512 .94 0.57 0.45 Exp/Style 26.20 1 26.20 0.03 0.86 Exp/8isk 876.26 1 876.26 0.S8 0.33 S t y l e / B i s k 33.01 1 33.01 0.04 0.85 Explained 16453.66 10 1645.37 1.83 0.09 B e s i d u a l 35033.00 39 898.28 T o t a l 51486.66 49 1050.75 I — 1 Table 9. ANOVA - Extent o f A b b r e v i a t i o n hypothesis 13 - The l e n g t h o f commands w i l l be the main f a c t o r a f f e c t i n g the extent to which they are a b b r e v i a t e d by u s e r s . In the a n a l y s i s , the main e f f e c t Length was a t w o - l e v e l v a r i a b l e i n d i c a t i n g whether the game with s h o r t (3 t o 5 l e t t e r mnemonics) or long (5 to 8 l e t t e r ) commands was being played. The a n a l y s i s appears i n t a b l e 10 and v e r i f i e s the hy p o t h e s i s . Although experience and e x p e r i e n c e / c o g n i t i v e s t y l e are r e l a t i v e l y s i g n i f i c a n t sources o f v a r i a n c e , l e n g t h of commands was c l e a r l y the dominating f a c t o r . C o n c l u s i o n : i f commands are s h o r t , users w i l l tend t o type them i n f u l l ; i f long , users w i l l d e vise a b b r e v i a t i o n s . Hypotheses about Comparisons over Time These seven hypotheses were a l l r e l a t e d to user l e a r n i n g a f f e c t s . Each compared user behaviour over the f i r s t 10 periods t o behaviour over a l l remaining p e r i o d s , and was 42 | SOUBCE VAB. I E x P I S t y l e I Eisk ) le n g t h ) Exp/Style | Ixp/Bisk I Exp/Length I S t y l e / B i s k I S t y l e / L e n g t h J Bisk/Length | Explained J B e s i d u a l I T o t a l S. SQ. 1381.94 72. 14 16.93 8144.06 1359.23 606.73 94. 17 1091.69 102.56 261.68 17828.54 5927.01 23755.55 DF. M. SQ. F SIGMIF. ! . 1381.94 3.55 0.08** 1 72.14 0.18 0.67 1 16.93 0.04 0.84 1 8144.06 20.94 0.0 0** 1 . 1359.23 3.49 0.0 8** 1 606.73 1.56 0.23 1 94.17 0.24 0.63 1 1091.69 2.81 0. 12* 1 102.56 0.26 0.62 1 261 .68 0.67 0.43 10 1782.85 4.45 0.01 15 395.13 25 950.22 Table 10. ANOVA - A b b r e v i a t i o n by Length t e s t e d by a p a i r e d t - t e s t (shown i n t a b l e 11). VABIABLE GBOUPING # SEAN STDEV. , T PBOB Kin/Per. 10 Periods 45 0.70 0.21 Bemainder 45 0.53 0. 16 6.07 0.00** C c n f i d . 10 P e r i o d s 45 47. 16 24. 98 Bemainder 45 47.29 27.43 -0.03 0.49 U s a b i l i t y 10 P e r i o d s 45 5.24 2.35 Bemainder 45 5.71 2.86 - 1.38 0.09** Abbrev. 10 Periods 45 49.34 33.55 Bemainder 45 46.42 33.04 2.36 0.01** H i s t o r i e s 10 P e r i o d s 45 14.20 14. 40 Bemainder 45 7.38 10.28 3.26 0.00** C r d - H i s t . 10 P e r i o d s 45 9.58 11.06 Bemainder 45 8.78 11.76 0.38 0. 35 Graphs 10 P e r i o d s 45 19.16 22.63 Bemainder 45 25.80 24.64 -2.1 1 0.02** Table 11. T-TESTS - Comparisons over Time 43 Hypothesis 14 - Average time spent p l a y i n g each p e r i o d w i l l decrease with time - was c l e a r l y supported; user speed i n c r e a s e d from 0.70 minutes/period t o 0.53 minutes/period (an obvious, yet s t i l l encouraging, r e s u l t ) . On the other hand, hypothesis 15 - User confidence w i l l i n c r e a s e with time - was d e f i n i t e l y r e j e c t e d ; there was e s s e n t i a l l y no change i n user c o n f i d e n c e over time. Apparently, no matter how c l o s e they came t o the optimum, the users s t i l l f e l t t h a t everyone e l s e must be at t h e same s t a g e . I t may be d e s i r a b l e t o provide the user with some i n d i c a t i o n of comparative performance (reinforcement) whenever p o s s i b l e . A l s o supported was hyp o t h e s i s 16 - User r a t i n g s of the u s a b i l i t y of the computer program w i l l improve with time. As i n d i c a t e d i n t a b l e 11, t h e i r average r a t i n g s changed from 5.24 to 5.71 (on a s c a l e from 1 to 9), i n d i c a t i n g some higher a p p r e c i a t i o n of the program once they had a chance to t r y many of i t s f e a t u r e s . Hypothesis 17 - The extent of a b b r e v i a t i o n (by unstructured game v e r s i o n p l a y e r s ) w i l l i n c r e a s e with time -was a l s o v e r i f i e d , though l e s s d r a m a t i c a l l y . During the f i r s t ten p e r i o d s , 4 9 o f each 100 c h a r a c t e r s were typed; during the remainder of t h e game, 46 were typed. I t would seem t h a t people e i t h e r read i n the i n s t r u c t i o n s t h a t they could a b b r e v i a t e and d i d so from the s t a r t of the game, or they d i d not a b b r e v i a t e from the s t a r t and only a few l e a r n e d t o do so. The t e s t of hy p o t h e s i s 18 - Usage of H i s t o r y r e p o r t s w i l l decrease with time - was h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t . The average 44 number c f H i s t o r i e s requested per 100 pe r i o d s dropped from 14 to 7, presumably as people l e a r n e d the value of the Graphs. Hypothesis 19 - Osage c f Ordered H i s t o r y r e p o r t s w i l l decrease with time - was r e j e c t e d . T h e i r use remained q u i t e constant throughout the game; i n f a c t , they were never very popular. F i n a l l y , h ypothesis 20 - Osage o f Graphs w i l l i n c r e a s e with time - was supported by the r e s u l t s . I n i t i a l l y , o n l y 19 graphs were requested per 100 pe r i o d s ; a f t e r 10 p e r i o d s , though, n e a r l y 26 were requested. I t would appear t h a t users q u i c k l y l e a r n e d the value of a more p i c t o r i a l r e p o r t . I t should a l s o be mentioned t h a t f u r t h e r data a n a l y s i s r e v e a l e d that h e u r i s t i c s (low a n a l y t i c s ) were the only users who showed no s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e i n t h e i r use of Graphs. !22J:0.theses about Be port Osage a. n<| S o l u t i o n P r o t o c o l s The next three hypotheses a l l r e l a t e t o usaqe of r e p o r t s ; i n a l l of these, the dependent v a r i a b l e i s the number o f r e p o r t s looked at per 100 p e r i o d s . The two hypotheses f o l l o w i n g these both r e l a t e t o s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s . The f i r s t h y p o t h e s i s i n t h i s area i s hypothesis 21 Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Bisk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the use of H i s t o r y r e p o r t s . The a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e appears i n t a b l e 12, and shews only game v e r s i o n and experience as s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r s . Users of the s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n used H i s t o r i e s most o f t e n (presumably because they are c o n s t a n t l y reminded of t h e i r e x i s t e n c e ) , while experienced p l a y e r s used them l e a s t o f t e n ( p r e f e r r i n g t h e more i n f o r m a t i v e g r a p h i c a l r e p o r t ) , The 45 r e p o r t frequency by user type was: 18 r e p o r t s f o r s t r u c t u r e d game p l a y e r s and 6 f o r u n s t r u c t u r e d ; 16 r e p o r t s f o r experienced p l a y e r s and 7 f o r n o v i c e s . | SOUSCI VAR. S.SQ. DF. M. SQ. F SIGNIF. } | Mode 1639.96 1 1639.96 10. 17 0.00** | 1 Exp 808.12 1 808.12 5.01 0,03** J f S t y l e 1.82 1 1.82 0.01 0.92 | I Risk. 35.74 1 35.74 0.22 0.64 J | Mode/Exp 754.70 1 754.70 4.68 0.04** | | Mode/Style 71.52 1 71.52 0.44 0.51 | | Mode/Risk 1.03 1 1.03 0.01 0.94 | | Exp/Style 13.13 1 13.13 0.08 0.78 | I Exp/Risk 1.44 1 1.44 0.01 0.92 I I S t y l e / R i s k 2.60 1 2.60 0.02 0.90 | I Ex p l a i n e d 3583.96 10 358.40 2.22 0.04 | I R e s i d u a l 6287.26 39 161.21 | I T o t a l 9871.22 49 201.45 Table 12. ANOVA - Use of H i s t o r y Reports Hypothesis 22 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the use c f Ordered H i s t o r y r e p o r t s i s analyzed i n t a b l e 13. The o n l y s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r i s game v e r s i o n (together with an experience i n t e r a c t i o n ) . Again, i t would seem t h a t s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n users, faced with repeated reminders of the r e p o r t ' s e x i s t e n c e , s e l e c t Ordered H i s t o r i e s more o f t e n than u n s t r u c t u r e d game users., No other s i n g l e f a c t o r had much impact ( r e c a l l from t h e a n a l y s i s of hypothesis 19 that t h i s r e p o r t was not very popular i n general) * The t e s t of Hypothesis 23 - Mode, Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t the use of Graphs had a p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t r i g u i n g r e s u l t . There were only weakly s i g n i f i c a n t sources 46 SOUfiCE VAR. S.SQ. DF. M.SQ. F SIGNIF. Mode 634.87 1 634.87 8.22 0.01** 121.95 1 121.95 1.58 0.22 S t y l e 29.10 1 29.10 0.38 0.54 Risk 63.46 1 63.46 0.82 0.37 Mode/Exp 343.67 1 343.67 4.45 0.04** Mode/Style 3.64 1 3.64 0.05 0.83 Mode/Risk 32.88 1 32.88 0.43 0.52 Exp/Style 37.64 1 37.64 0.49 0.49 Exp/Risk 7.47 1 7.47 0.10 0.76 S t y l e / R i s k 125.66 1 125.66 1.63 0.21 Explained 1618.67 10 161.87 2. 10 0.05 Re s i d u a l 3013.31 39 77.26 T o t a l 4631.98 49 94.53 Table 13. ANOVA - Use of Ordered H i s t o r y Reports of v a r i a n c e : experience and c o g n i t i v e s t y l e (see t a b l e 14). Experienced p l a y e r s reguested more Graphs than n o v i c e s (32 vs. 20) and high a n a l y t i c s reguested more than low a n a l t y i c s (31 vs. 21) . I SOURCE VAR. S.SQ.. DF. M. SQ. F SIGNIF. Mode 556.49 •j 556.49 1.05 0.31 Exp 1393.66 1 1393.66 2.62 0.11* S t y l e 1170.53 1 1170.53 2.20 0.15* Risk 268.33 1 268.33 0.51 0.48 Mode/Exp 0.02 1 0.02 0.00 0.99 Mode/Style 258.70 1 258.70 0.49 0.49 Mode/Risk 45.41 1 45.41 0.08 0.77 Exp/Style 59.37 1 59.37 0.11 0.74 Exp/Risk 674.95 1 674.95 1.27 0.27 S t y l e / R i s k 852.69 1 852.69 1 .60 0.21 Explained 5328.19 10 5328.19 1.00 0.46 R e s i d u a l 20734.72 39 531.66 T o t a l 26062.91 49 531.90 Table 14. ANOVA - Use of Graphs 47 The l a s t two hypotheses o f t h i s t h e s i s r e l a t e to users* s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s . By p l o t t i n g a l l of the < p r i c e , guantity> p a i r s i n the order i n which they were simulated, a p i c t u r e of each user's p r o t o c o l was obtained (see Appendix F f o r examples). By then \"connecting the dots,\" one c o u l d get a good i d e a of what the o r i g i n a l p a r t i c i p a n t was attempting t o do. Some p a r t i c i p a n t s d i s p l a y e d h i g h l y s y s t e m a t i c a c t i v i t y , employing a b i n a r y search, a g r a d i e n t s e a r c h ( i . e . h i l l c l i m b i n g ) , a s p i r a l l i n g path, or other e x p l i c i t model. Other p a r t i c i p a n t s used a s t r u c t u r e d t r i a l and e r r o r ; they r o u t i n e l y t e s t e d every p o i n t i n the problem space (but with no apparent d e s i r e to zoom i n on the optimum when neared). F i n a l l y , seme p a r t i c i p a n t s showed no method a t a l l ; they j u s t wandered randomly through the problem space. To t e s t hypothesis 24 - Exp, S t y l e , and Bisk w i l l a l l a f f e c t whether users d i s p l a y e d a s t r u c t u r e d approach to s o l v i n g the problem (with the emphasis on S t y l e ) - the p r o t o c o l diagram f o r each user was traced manually, and the approach c l a s s i f i e d as s y s t e m a t i c or not. An ANOVA was then performed, y i e l d i n g the r e s u l t s i n t a b l e 15. Although experience was weakly s i g n i f i c a n t , c o g n i t i v e s t y l e was c l e a r l y the most s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r . Comprising 20 of the 27 s t r u c t u r e d p l a y e r s , high a n a l y t i c s were more f r e q u e n t l y s y s t e m a t i c and s t r u c t u r e d , s u p p o r t i n g B a r r e t t f s c l a s s i f i -c a t i o n s (see chapter two). One other measure was made upon the user p r o t o c o l s : based 48 SOURCE VAR. S. SQ. DF. M.SQ, F SIGNIF. Exp 1.62 1 1 .62 2.34 0. 13* S t y l e 3.31 1 3.31 4.78 0.03** Risk 0.01 1 0.01 0.01 0.94 Exp/Style 2.61 1 2.61 3.76 0.06** Exp/Risk 0.44 1 0.44 0.64 0.43 S t y l e / R i s k 0.16 1 0.16 0.24 0.63 Expl a i n e d 9.31 6 1.55 2.24 0.06** Re s i d u a l 29.81 43 0.69 T o t a l 39. 12 49 0.80 Table 15. ANOVA - Pr o t o c o l S t r u c t u r e SOURCE VAR. S. SQ. DF. M.SQ. F SIGNIF. Exp 0.79 1 0.79 3.36 0.07** S t y l e 0.08 1 0.08 0.32 0.57 Risk 0.03 1 0.03 0. 14 0.72 Exp/Style 0.27 1 0.27 1. 13 0. 29 Exp/Risk 0.75 1 0.75 3.18 0.08** S t y l e / R i s k 0.02 1 0.02 0.08 0.77 Expla i n e d 2. 15 6 0.36 1.51 0.20 Res i d u a l 10.17 43 0.24 T o t a l 12. 32 49 0.25 Table 16. ANOVA - P r o t o c o l D i s p e r s i o n upon the extent t o which p a r t i c i p a n t s searched the e n t i r e problem space, or j u s t c o n c e n t r a t e d upon one s m a l l area, the p r c t o c o l s were manually c l a s s i f i e d as d i s p e r s e d or not. Then hypothesis 25 - Exp, S t y l e , and Risk w i l l a l l a f f e c t t he amount cf d i s p e r s i o n d i s p l a y e d i n t h e i r search f o r the optimum {with the emphasis again on S t y l e ) - was t e s t e d . As i n d i c a t e d i n t a b l e 16, the onl y s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r was experience (together with a r i s k a t t i t u d e i n t e r a c t i o n ) ; a p p a r e n t l y , 49 experienced p l a y e r s were more f a m i l i a r with t h i s type of task and d i d not f i n d any need to \" f e e l around\" the e n t i r e problem space. N e i t h e r of the p s y c h o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e s c o u l d e x p l a i n much of t h i s behaviour, As mentioned i n the previous chapter, a summary o f these r e s u l t s appears i n appendix G. 50 Chapter Seven CONCLUSIONS In t h i s t h e s i s , a new re s e a r c h t o o l ( i n the form o f an i n t e r a c t i v e computer program) has been i n t r o d u c e d . The motivation f o r t h i s has been d e s c r i b e d : t o present an exauple of a convenient, \" i d i o t - p r o o f \" computer program, and t o f a c i l i t a t e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f some aspects of man-machine communication which c o u l d be of i n t e r e s t t o oth e r i n f o r m a t i o n systems r e s e a r c h e r s . , Seme of the r e l a t e d l i t e r a t u r e has been d i s c u s s e d ; then the user e n g i n e e r i n g of the computer program was de s c r i b e d i n d e t a i l . Next, the a c t u a l process of data c o l l e c t i o n f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h was presented. The p r e - t e s t i n g f o r t h i s r e s e a r c h was de s c r i b e d and shown t o be q u i t e convenient f o r both a d m i n i s t r a t o r and p a r t i c i p a n t , t a k i n g j u s t over one h a l f - h c u r . The d e t a i l s of the computer experiment were then presented. Again, the convenience aspect c o u l d not be over-emphasized: the qame l a s t e d only one h a l f - h o u r , making i t easy to admi n i s t e r and minimizing the p o s s i b i l i t y of s u b j e c t s g e t t i n g bored or needing t o hurry t o get i t over with. In the a c t u a l running of the experiments, two items are p a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy. F i r s t , d e s p i t e heavy emphasis on the need t o c a r e f u l l y read the i n s t r u c t i o n s i n advance, i t was found t h a t some people j u s t d i d not do i t . T h i s suggests a need t o p e r s o n a l l y t u t o r every new user of a computer system or otherwise r e i t e r a t e the i n s t r u c t i o n s (perhaps cn the t e r m i n a l s c r e e n ) ; no matter how well the documentation may be 51 w r i t t e n , seme people j u s t w i l l not read i t or take the time t o pr o p e r l y understand i t - and the r e s u l t s can be d i s a s t r o u s (poor r e s u l t s now and l a c k of f a i t h i n computers i n the f u t u r e ) . The second problem observed while a d m i n i s t e r i n g the game i n v o l v e d g e t t i n g novice users s t a r t e d with the u n s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n of the game; the concept of a ge n e r a l command proces s o r appeared t o be j u s t too s o p h i s t i c a t e d f o r them. Personal a t t e n t i o n was needed t o e x p l a i n the task and sometimes demonstrate i t . I t seemed q u i t e c l e a r t h a t n o v i c e s would be happier with the s t r u c t u r e d qame v e r s i o n - a t l e a s t u n t i l they understood what was happening. To t h i s end, r e c a l l from chapter three that the e x t r a programming necessary t o wr i t e a proqram which c o u l d be run i n e i t h e r mode was q u i t e minimal. F i n a l l y , the process of data capture and c o n v e r s i o n was presented. I t was mentioned t h a t data about user performance, behaviour, a t t i t u d e , and even s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l were a l l c o l l e c t e d by the computer proqram. This data was then analyzed with SPSS, using a n a l y s i s o f va r i a n c e and t - t e s t s (both n o r m a l - o n e - t a i l e d and p a i r e d ) . The r e s u l t s of these analyses are now reviewed, t h i s time i n a d i f f e r e n t order and with added d i s c u s s i o n . In r e l a t i n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e s to performance, i t was found t h a t c o g n i t i v e s t y l e had a strong e f f e c t upon whether people f i n i s h e d the game on time, and upon t h e i r c o n f i d e n c e l e v e l throughout the game. High a n a l y t i c s f i n i s h e d 52 more o f t e n and were more c o n f i d e n t than low a n a l y t i c s , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t t h i s game (and perhaps many mathematical tasks?) may favor high a n a l y t i c s . C o g n i t i v e s t y l e a l s o impacted r e p o r t usage: i t was found t h a t h e u r i s t i c s (low a n a l y t i c s ) were the only group which n e i t h e r decreased i t s use of h i s t o r y r e p o r t s nor i n c r e a s e d i t s dependence upon g r a p h i c a l r e p o r t s l a t e r i n the game (implying a preference f o r the l e s s s t r u c t u r e d and l e s s summarized feedback). The high a n a l y t i c s d i s p l a y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t tendency to avo i d a c c e p t i n g d e f a u l t responses (a r e s u l t r e q u i r i n g f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n ) . F i n a l l y , i n the a n a l y s i s o f user s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s , i t was found that low a n a l y t i c s were s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s s t r u c t u r e d than high a n a l y t i c s i n t h e i r s e arch f o r the optimum (supporting the model suggested by Barrett) . Another p s y c h o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e , r i s k a t t i t u d e , was found to s i g n i f i c a n t l y a f f e c t p l a y i n g speed and c o n f i d e n c e ; r i s k -t a k e r s spent l e s s time per move and were more c o n f i d e n t than r i s k - a v e x t e r s (guestionning t h e f i n d i n g s of T a y l o r and Dunnette). A l s o , r i s k - a v e r t e r s were found t o a b b r e v i a t e commands to much l e s s extent than other users. I f t h i s i s caused by a m i s t r u s t of the computer, e f f o r t s should be made to d i s p e l t h i s f e a r . However, the most dominant f a c t o r on a l l dimensions was the user's previous experience with o n - l i n e computer systems. Experienced p l a y e r s were much f a s t e r , f i n i s h e d more o f t e n , and were s i g n i f i c a n t l y more c o n f i d e n t than n o v i c e s . T h i s c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e s the importance o f e x p l i c i t l y r e c o g n i z i n g these 53 f a c t o r s i n any computer r e s e a r c h {ana probably any r e s e a r c h , f o r t h a t matter). Experienced users were happy with e i t h e r game v e r s i o n , w h i l e , as noted e a r l i e r , novices were i n i t i a l l y l o s t with the u n s t r u c t u r e d game. F i n a l l y , experienced p a r t i c i p a n t s made the l e a s t use of H i s t o r y r e p o r t s , and showed the l e a s t amount of d i s p e r s i o n i n t h e i r s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s , both i n d i c a t i n g an a b i l i t y to d e t e c t and d i s r e g a r d l e s s r e l e v a n t m a t e r i a l . Again, i t i s pointed out t h a t experienced s u b j e c t s seem t o have an advantage i n computerized r e s e a r c h . Game v e r s i o n , on the other hand, was found ( s t a t i s t i c a l l y ) t o be a very weak f a c t o r , a f f e c t i n g n e i t h e r speed, t e r m i n a t i o n , nor confidence. I t would seem t h a t , f o r reasonably simple t a s k s , both v e r s i o n s are e q u a l l y u s e f u l . The i d e a l , t h e r e f o r e , would be to provide the user with both a l t e r n a t i v e s , and l e t him choose whichever i s more comfortable f o r him (a c h o i c e which may change with time) . However, i t should be noted t h a t game v e r s i o n d i d a f f e c t some behaviour: users of the s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n (which reminds p l a y e r s of the a v a i l a b i l i t y of the r e p o r t s each period) requested s i g n i f i c a n t l y more H i s t o r y and Ordered H i s t o r y r e p o r t s . Another area which was c o n s i d e r e d b r i e f l y was e r r o r r a t e . No d i f f e r e n c e s were found among user types with r e s p e c t t o making t y p o g r a p h i c a l or range e r r o r s . In f a c t , there were very few e r r o r s made by any p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h i s game; the user e n q i n e e r i n q aspects of the computer proqram {sinindzed memorization, i n d i c a t i o n of allowed responses, u n l i m i t e d a b b r e v i a t i o n , etc.) seem to have minimized the p o s s i b i l i t i e s 54 f o r e r r o r . The impact of d e f a u l t s under v a r i o u s circumstances was a l s o s t u d i e d . I t was found t h a t the opening p r i c e and q u a n t i t y d e f a u l t s were accepted by over one-half of the p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the f i r s t p e r i o d o f the game, whereas s e t t i n g the d e f a u l t response t o gu e s t i o n s about the user's d e s i r e to see a r e p o r t to *yes» r a t h e r than 'no' had no s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t upon whether they a c t u a l l y requested t h a t r e p o r t . Hence, i n l e s s w e l l - d e f i n e d s i t u a t i o n s , people appear to s e l e c t the d e f a u l t value r a t h e r than t h i n k f o r themselves. I t i s suggested t h a t d e f a u l t values not be provided i n these circumstances (as they may b i a s the r e s u l t s ) . On the ether hand, i n s i t u a t i o n s where the c h o i c e i s c l e a r , d e f a u l t s appear not to i n f l u e n c e the user, and are recommended as an a i d t o him (to minimize unnecessary typing) , The l a s t area examined concerning program usage was the e f f e c t of command l e n g t h upon the extent of a b b r e v i a t i o n by users. P l a y e r s o f the game with 3 t o 5 l e t t e r mnemonic commands a b b r e v i a t e d f a r l e s s f r e q u e n t l y than p l a y e r s of the game with 5 to 8 l e t t e r commands. There are two p o s s i b l e i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h i s : t o \" f o r c e \" users to a b b r e v i a t e commands (and presumably p l a y f a s t e r ) , i n t e n t i o n a l l y make the commands long; t o \" f o r c e \" users to remember the commands i n f u l l , make them reasonably s h o r t (but do not compromise t h e i r i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y ) . I t i s proposed t h a t the former i s more ap p r o p r i a t e when there are only a few commands and the l a t t e r i s best when the number of commands i s g u i t e l a r q e . 55 The l a s t area c o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s research compared user performance and behaviour i n the f i r s t 10 periods of the game to the remainder of the game. The a n a l y s i s of r e s u l t s r e v e a l e d t h a t p l a y i n g speed, extent of a b b r e v i a t i o n , and use of Graphs a l l i n c r e a s e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y over time, and use o f H i s t o r y r e p o r t s decreased over time ( a l l of which were d e s i r a b l e from a systems d e s i g n e r ' s point of view). Oser r a t i n g s of the u s a b i l i t y of the program a l s o i n c r e a s e d s l i g h t l y , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t users a p p r e c i a t e d the program more a f t e r they had time to get comfortable with i t . A s u r p r i s i n g r e s u l t was t h a t user c o n f i d e n c e d i d not change with time; i t would seem t h a t no matter how well people are d o i n g , i f they do not know how everyone e l s e i s doing, they assume t h a t they are performing only average. Perhaps some comparative performance feedback could remedy t h i s (when i t i s a v a i l a b l e , of c o u r s e ) . In summary, a very simple, yet e f f e c t i v e (and enjoyable!) r e s e a r c h t o o l has been d e s c r i b e d , and the r e s u l t s c f an experiment using i t have been presented. Some of the f i n d i n g s c f p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h e r s have been confirmed; some new r e s u l t s have been provided about the man-machine i n t e r f a c e . C l e a r l y , many of these r e s u l t s have touched only the s u r f a c e , and much more resea r c h c o u l d be done i n t h i s area. For example; the use cf r e p o r t s c o u l d be i n v e s t i g a t e d f u r t h e r by having v e r s i o n s with and without g r a p h i c a l r e p o r t s and s t u d y i n g the impact upon performance, behaviour, a t t i t u d e , and s o l u t i o n 56 p r o t o c o l ; the comparisons over time could be a p p l i e d to the p e r i o d - b y - p e r i o d time s e r i e s data, r a t h e r than to two averages ( f i r s t 10 p e r i o d s versus remainder); the s o l u t i o n p r o t o c o l s c o u l d be s t u d i e d more c a r e f u l l y and s c i e n t i f i c a l l y ; or other aspects of s p e c i a l program f e a t u r e s c o u l d be i n v e s t i g a t e d , i n c l u d i n g u t i l i z a t i o n o f typeahead c a p a b i l i t i e s and i t s impact upon p l a y i n g speed, e r r o r r a t e , e t c . 57 FOOTNOTES 1 BeGreene, Kenyon B. \"flan-Computer I n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s , \" System Psychology, Kenyon E. 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Management Information Systems.;, Concejatual n t, (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company) , 1974, ppT 150-151. 2 9 Meadow, Ch a r l e s T. Man-Machine Communication, (New York: W i l e y - I n t e r s c i e n c e ) , 1970. 3 0 Martin, James. Design of Man-Computer Dialogues, (Englewood C l i f f s , New J e r s e y : P r e n t i c e - H a l l , I n c . ) , 1973. 3 i i b i d . , pp. 87-88. 59 3 2 Witkin, H. A., P. K. Oltman, E. Buskin, and S. a. Karp. The Embedded F i g u r e s T e s t , (Palo a l t o , C a l i f o r n i a : C o n s u l t i n g P s y c h o l o g i s t P r e s s , I n c . ) , 1971. 3 3 Kogan, S. And M. A. Wallach. Bisk Taking; J. _SJ_uJ_ i n C o q n i t i c n and P e r s o n a l i t y , (New York: H o l t , B i n e h a r t , and Winston), 1964. 3 * Nie, N. H., C. H. H u l l , J . G. J e n k i n s , K. S t e i n b r e n n e r , and D. H. Bent. S t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the -S o c i a l S c i e n c e s , Second E d i t i o n , (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company), 1975. 3 5 MacCrimmon, Kenneth R. \"An Experimental Study of the D e c i s i o n Making Behavior of Business E x e c u t i v e s , \" Ph.D. T h e s i s , D n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angelas (1965). 3 * i b i d . , p. 207. 60 BIBLIPGRAPHY B a r r e t t , G erald V., C a r l 1. Thornton, and P a t r i c k A. Cabe. \"Human Fa c t o r s E v a l u a t i o n of a Computer Based I n f o r m a t i o n Storage and R e t r i e v a l System,\" Human F a c t o r s , V. 10, Ho. 4 (august, 1968), pp. 431-436. Benbasat, Izak, and A l b e r t S..Dexter. \"Value and Events Approaches to Accounting: An Experimental E v a l u a t i o n , \" Working Paper No. 488, F a c u l t y of Commerce and Business A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia (1978). Benbasat, Izak, and Soger Sehroeder. \"An Experimental I n v e s t i -g a t i o n of Seme MIS Design V a r i a b l e s , \" iIS_ Q u a r t e r l y , V. 1, No. 1 (March, 1977), pp. 37-49. Benbasat, Izak, and Ronald N. T a y l o r . \"The Impact of C o g n i t i v e S t y l e s on Information System Design,\" Working Paper No.,518, F a c u l t y of Commerce and Business a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. B o t k i n , J . W. \"An I n t u i t i v e Computer System: A Cogni-t i v e Approach to the Management Learning Process,\" D.B.A. T h e s i s , Harvard U n i v e r s i t y (1973)., Davis, Gordon B. Management Information Systems; Conceptual Found a t i o n S j t S t r u c t u r e , and Development. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1974. ~ DeGreene, Kenyon B. \"Man-Computer I n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p s , \" System Psychology. Kenyon B. DeGreene (ed.), New York: McGraw-H i l l Book Company, 1970, pp. 281-336. Eason, K. D. \"The Manager as a Computer User,\" a p p l i e d Ergonomics, V. 5, No. 1 (1974), pp. 9-14. Ferguson, Robert L., and C u r t i s H. Jones, \"a Computer Aided D e c i s i o n System,\" Management Sc i e n c e , V. 15, No. 10 (June, 1969), pp. B-550 - B-561. Hansen, W i l f r e d J . \"User E n g i n e e r i n g P r i n c i p l e s f o r I n t e r -a c t i v e Systems,\" Proceedings, 1971 AFIPS F a l l J o i n t Computer Conference, pp. 523-532. Keen, Peter G. W. \"The I m p l i c a t i o n s of C o g n i t i v e S t y l e f o r I n d i v i d u a l D e c i s i o n Making,\" D.B.A. T h e s i s , Harvard Uni-v e r s i t y (1973) . Kogan, N. and M. A. Wallach. Risk - Taking.:, A Study i n Cognit^on and P e r s o n a l i t y , New York: H o l t , Rinehart, and Winston, 1964. 61 MacCrimmon, Kenneth R. \"An Experimental Study of the D e c i s i o n Baking Behavior o f Business E x e c u t i v e s , \" Ph.D. T h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , Los Angelas (1965). Martin, James. Design of Man-Computer Di a l o g u e s . Enqlewood C l i f f s , New J e r s e y : P r e n t i c e - H a l l , Inc., 1973. Meadow, C h a r l e s T. Man-Machine Communication, New York: Wiley-I n t e r s c i e n c e , 1970. Mock, Theodore J . \"A L o n g i t u d i n a l Study of Some Information S t r u c t u r e A l t e r n a t i v e s , \" Data Base, V. 5, No. 2,3 € 4 ( S i n t e r , 1973), pp. 40-44. Nie, N. H., C. H. H u l l , J . G. J e n k i n s , K. St e i n b r e n n e r , and D. H. Bent. S t a t i s t i c a l Package f o r the S o c i a l S c i e n c e s , Second E d i t i o n , New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975. T a y l o r , Ronald N. \" P s y c h o l o g i c a l Determinants of Bounded R a t i o n a l i t y : I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r Decision-Making S t r a t e g i e s , \" D e c i s i o n S c i e n c e s , V. 6, No. 3 ( J u l y , 1975) , pp. 409-429.\" T a y l o r , Ronald N., and Marvin D. Dunnette. \" R e l a t i v e C o n t r i b u t i o n of Decision-Maker A t t r i b u t e s to D e c i s i o n Processes,\" O r g a n i z a t i o n a l .Behavior and Human Performance. V. / l 2 . No. 2 (October, 1974), pp. 286-2S8., wasserman, Anthony I. \"The Design o f ' I d i o t - P r o o f * I n t e r a c t i v e Programs,\" Proceedings, 1973 N a t i o n a l Computer Conference, V. 42, pp. M34-M38. Witkin, H.A., P. K. Oltman, E. Ruskin, and S. A. Karp. The Embedded f i g u r e s T e s t , P a l o A l t o , C a l i f o r n i a : C o n s u l t i n g P s y c h o l o g i s t P r e s s , Inc., 1971. Wynne, Eayard E. and Gary W. Dickson. \"Experienced Managers* Performance i n Experimental Man-Machine D e c i s i o n System S i m u l a t i o n , \" Academy o f Management J o u r n a l . V. 18, No. 1 (March, 1975), pp. 25-40. 62 Appendix A PROGRAM LISTING A l i s t i n g of the source code f o r the computer game appears on the next 21 pages. The program i s w r i t t e n e n t i r e l y i n FORTRAN and i s about 1000 l i n e s long. I t uses some subprograms ( f o r t i m i n g , f i l e c o n t r o l , and c h a r a c t e r comparison) which are s p e c i f i c t o the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, and hence can probably only serve as an example f o r oth e r s . In the pages t o f o l l o w , the program comments should s u f f i c e as general documentation. 63 C CBT GAME FOB THESIS DATA COLLECTION C P. MASULIS -DECEASES,1977 C C TO BUN THIS GAME: C B *FTN SCARDS=PSM.FTN SFUNCH=PSM C B PSM*CPU:LIB PAB=CCC,YY¥,LLL, C WHERE CCC=CYC * FOB STRUCTURED INPUT C =CMD FOB UNSTBUCTUBID INPUT C Y¥Y=YES * FOB *YES* DEFAULT/LONG COMMANDS C =NO FOB «NO» DEFAULT/SHOBT COMMANDS C LLL=L08 * FOB (10,25) INITIAL (PBICE,CTY) C =HI FOB (20, 45) INITIAL (PRICE,QTY) C * INDICATES DEFAULT VALUE C C IMPLICIT INTEGEB (A-Z) LOGICAL EQUC INTEGEB*2 MODE{30) ,CMD/»C0•/,NO/*NO*/,HI/*HI•/,BECOVB/* B E V 10GICAL*1 YNDEF,Y/*Y'/,E/*E*/,S/*S'/,N/*N*/,0/*0*/,BLANK/* */ LOGICAL*1 SDUM{10) INTEGEB*2 NAME(6) EQUIVALENCE (NAME (1) , MODE (9) ) INTEGEB*2 DATA,SAVE LOGICAL ATTN BEAL RZ COMMON PERIOD,PRICE,QTY,PBOFIT, DATA (30, 70) ,SAVE{ 100,4) ,ATTN COMMON MINPBF,HAXPBF,MAXPTR,YNDEF(4),REP(3),BUMNUM,NUBHLP COMMON NDMLIT,NUMGET,NUMCMD,NUMDEF,NUMERB,MAXCHR,NUMCHR,RZ COMMON NUMNCA,NUMNEN C C PRELOAD COMMON VARIABLES C RUMLIT-0 NUMGET=0 NUMCMD=0 NUMDEF=0 NUMEBB=0 MAXCHB=0 NUMCHB=0 NDMNUM=0 NUMHLP=0 NUMNDA-=0 »UMNDN=0 BEP(1)=0 BEP (2)=0 REP{3)=0 MAXPTR=1 PEBIOD=0 MAXPBF=0 MINPRF=999 SAVE(MAXPTB,4)=0 C C SETUP I/O C CALL ATNTEP (ATTN) LEN=7 , CALL CNTRL { * BAT E 10',LEN,6) 64 LEN=4 CALL CNTBL('BOLL', LEN,6) CALL FTNCMD(* DEFAULT 7=PSM# 1 1 ,16) CALL FTNCMD( 1DEFAOLT 8=IZAK:FUNCTION • ,24) C C CHECK FOB BECOVEBY BON C CALL PAB {MODE(3),NI,24,S6,S6) 6 IF{MODE(3) . NE.BECOVB) GOTO 19 BEAI(7,7) MX,MY,8Z 7 FOBMAT(24X,I3,5X,I3,5X,F5.3) CALL BEADPF (NAME,MX,MY,BZ) BEAD{7,8) MODE (3) , {YNDEF (I) ,1=1 ,3) 8 FOEMAT(10X,A2,26X,3A1) 11 BEAD(7,12,END=60) ICODE,PBICE,QTY,MTIM 12 FOaMAT 1 4 1 33 5 4 08 86 INSTRUCTIONS You w i l l soon be p l a y i n g a simple computer game (a \" s i m u l a t i o n \" ) . The nature of the game w i l l be d e s c r i b e d i n d e t a i l when you begin p l a y i n g . In the meantime, please read (and understand!) the f o l l o w i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s - they are s h o r t , so please read them a t l e a s t a few times: 1) To en t e r i n p u t i n t o the computer, simply type on the computer t e r m i n a l keyboard as i f i t were a normal t y p e w r i t e r . A f t e r you have e n t e r r e d a l i n e , press the RETURN key t o ter m i n a t e the input. 2) I f you make a t y p i n g mistake i n the c u r r e n t l i n e , j u s t press the DEI LINE key (near the top r i g h t ) and then retype the l i n e . 3) You w i l l have to take the i n i t i a t i v e i n t h i s game; t h a t i s , you w i l l have to i n s t r u c t the computer what t o do next. To do t h i s , you must enter commands v i a the keyboard (the commands w i l l be d e s c r i b e d when you p l a y ) . When you enter commands, you can type the e n t i r e command, or any a b b r e v i a t i o n of i t . Thus, to e n t e r the command SIMULA! you c o u l d type SIMULATE, SIMUL, SIM, S, e t c . and then press RETURN. U) Some commands w i l l cause a gues t i o n t o be asked by the computer. A l l guestions asked w i l l be of the same format; the f o l l o w i n g example i l l u s t r a t e s i t : Enter p r i c e t o be charged next p e r i o d (1-30) £ 10] : As can be seen, f i r s t the a c t u a l q u e s t i o n i s d i s p l a y e d , followed by the ranqe of p o s s i b l e answers i n parentheses, f o l l o w e d - i n br a c k e t s - by the answer which the computer w i l l assume you want i f you simply press the BETURN key. To answer 2 0 to the above q u e s t i o n , you could type 20 - and then press BETUBN. To answer 10, you c o u l d type 10, o r no t h i n g at a l l - and then press BETUBN. 5) You may a l s o combine commands on one l i n e (separated by spaces!) i f you wish. For example, i f you knew t h a t the f o l l o w i n q sequence of events would occur (note t h a t a l l l i n e s end with a RETOBN): Command : PBICE Enter p r i c e to be charged next p e r i o d (1-30) [ 1 0 ] : 20 Command : SIMUL you could have j u s t typed ; Command : PBICE 20 Command : SIMUL or even: Command : PBICE 20 SIMUL 87 6) F i n a l l y , t h e r e i s one r e p o r t which must be e x p l a i n e d . I t i s a 3-dimensional graph, and i s best e x p l a i n e d with an example: PRICE QTY PROFIT 5 | 2 0 — — 4 I 3 3 4 20 PRICE 3 | 2 5 2 23 2 | 1 2 17 ===> 1 J 1 4 1 33 j 5 4 08 12345 QTY As can be seen, PRICE i s the v e r t i c a l a x i s , QTY i s the h o r i z o n t a l a x i s , and the PROFIT i s represented by a s i n g l e d i g i t (PROFIT/10 -no rounding!) a t the i n t e r s e c t i o n of the a s s o c i a t e d PRICE,QTY p a i r . 88 Appendix C SAMPLE INTERACTION The next pages provide examples of two s e s s i o n s o f the computer game (a s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n i n t e r a c t i o n appears on the f i r s t 6 pages, while an u n s t r u c t u r e d v e r s i o n i n t e r a c t i o n appears on the H pages f o l l o w i n g t h o s e ) , The opening i n s t r u c t i o n s , s e v e r a l periods o f s i m u l a t i o n , an a t t i t u d e q u e s t i o n n a i r e , and a l l three r e p o r t s are presented, (Note t h a t the graphs are much more readable on the computer t e r m i n a l where the dots are much f a i n t e r ) . 89 You are the General Manager f o r a s m a l l company c a l l e d XYZ (name d i s g u i s e d ) , which manufactures and s e l l s one product, Widgets (again d i s g u i s e d ) . In your c o n t i n u i n g e f f o r t s to meet company o b j e c t i v e s - i . e . t c maximize p r o f i t (what else!1!) - you r e c e n t l y h i r e d an M.E.A. student, John Doe, to undertake some g u a n t i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s . John was i n s t r u c t e d t o develop a model and computer program to help f i n d the o p t i m a l R e t a i l P r i c e and P r o d u c t i o n Q u a n t i t y f o r Widgets. A f t e r weeks of d i l i g e n t work he has produced a very \" s o p h i s t i c a t e d \" WATFIV program to do the job. I t i s Monday morning, and John i s w a i t i n g f o r you when you a r r i v e at the o f f i c e . He proudly presents h i s work to you. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , being from a famous Eastern Business School, he never thought t o use the computer t o a c t u a l l y determine the optimum a u t o m a t i c a l l y ; i n s t e a d , he designed a program with which you could seek the o p t i -mum y o u r s e l f (by spending p r e c i o u s time a t a computer t e r m i n a l , s i m u l a t i n g the r e s u l t s of d i f f e r e n t P r i c e / Q u a n t i t y combinations). You r e f r a i n from s t r a n g l i n g John, and c a l m l y thank him f o r h i s e f f o r t s (while making a mental memo t c h i r e o n l y 8.-B.C. graduates i n the f u t u r e ) . You then proceed t o the Computing Centre to t r y out the new program. As you a r r i v e a t the t e r m i n a l room, you r e c a l l your marketing manager r e p o r t i n d i c a t i n g t h a t your f i r m ' s demand f u n c t i o n i s r a t h e r unusual. You make a mental note not to l e t your i n t u i t i o n l e a d you a s t r a y , and then s t a r t running the program... *** THE PSOGRAM *** The program w i l l guide you through the s i m u l a t i o n , step by s t e p . , Simply answer a l l q u e s t i o n s as d i r e c t e d . Some h e l p f u l h i n t s : 1. The p o s s i b l e p r i c e range i s 1-30. 2. The p o s s i b l e g u a n t i t y range i s 1-70. 3. There i s one and o n l y one maximum p o i n t . 4. The game w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y stop a f t e r 25 minutes. 5. The game w i l l a l s o stop when you f i n d the optimum. 6. The optimum values are d i f f e r e n t f o r everyone! 7. A f t e r a few p e r i o d s , be sure to t r y a l l r e p o r t s i n order to l e a r n what they a r e . . . Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) f 10] : 15 Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 25] : Peri o d 1 has been s i m u l a t e d . . , With PBICE= 15 and QU ANTITY= 25 your p r o f i t was $27 Bant t o see H i s t o r y Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : NO Bant t o see Ordered Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : N Rant to see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 1 5 ] : Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 25] : 35 Period 2 has been s i m u l a t e d . , , with PRICE= 15 and Q0ANTITY= 35 your p r o f i t was $64 Want to see H i s t o r y Report (YES or NO) [ NO ]? : Want to see Ordered Beport (YES or NO) [NO ]? ; Want t o see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 15] : Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 35] : 45 Pe r i o d 3 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PRICE= 15 and QUANTITY= 45 your p r o f i t was $77 Want to see H i s t o r y Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? z Want to see Ordered Beport (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Want t o see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 1 5 ] ; 10 Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 45 ] : 35 91 Period 4 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PRICE= 10 and QUANTITY^ 35 your p r o f i t was $43 Want to see H i s t o r y Beport (YES or NO) f NO ]? : Want to see Ordered Beport (YES or NO) [NO j? : Want t o see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 1 0 ] ; 20 Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 3 5 ] : Pe r i o d 5 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PBICE= 20 and QUANTITY= 35 your p r o f i t was $43 Please CAREFULLY answer the f o l l o w i n g three q u e s t i o n s : I f 100 other people were p l a y i n g t h i s game r i g h t now, how many would be c l o s e r to the optimum than you (0-100)? : 25 How would you r a t e the \" u s a b i l i t y \" o f t h i s program; from 1 to 9, where 1 = f r u s t r a t i n g , 9=convenient (1-9)? : 7 How would you d e s c r i b e your present a t t i t u d e toward t h i s qame; 1=bored, 9=enjoyinq i t (1-9)? : 9 Want to see H i s t o r y Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : YES H i s t o r y Report f o r most re c e n t 25 p e r i o d s . PERIOD PRICE QTY PROFIT 1 2 3 4 5 15 15 15 10 20 25 35 45 35 35 27 64 77 43 43 Want to see Ordered Report (YIS or NO) [NO ]? : Y 92 H i s t o r y Report - ordered by P r o f i t . PERIOD PRICE QTY PROFIT 3 15 45 77 2 15 35 64 5 20 35 4 3 4 10 35 43 1 15 25 27 Want to see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Y 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 Graph of PROFIT/10 vs. PRICE,QTY 21 X 20 X. 19 X 18 17 P 16 R 15 I . 14 C 13 E 12 11 X 10 X. 9 X 8 X 7 X 6 X 5 4 3 2 1 X. X X X X XX 1 • • • • • • • ft. • • • • XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX QOANTITY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 23456789111111111122222222223333 33333344444444445555 555555666666 01234567890123 4567890123 4567 89012345678 901234567890123 45 Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 20] Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 3 5 ] : 45 93 Period 6 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . . With PRICE= 20 and Q0ANTITY= 45 your p r o f i t was $39 Want t o see H i s t o r y Beport (YES or NO) [NO J ? : Want to see Ordered Report (YES or NO) {NO ]? : Want to see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO )? : Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 20] : 10 Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 45] : 45 Period 7 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PBICE= 10 and QOANTITY= 45 your p r o f i t was $55 Want to see H i s t o r y Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Want to see Ordered Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Want to see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 1 0 ] ; 15 Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 4 5 ] ; 55 Period 8 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PRICE= 15 and QUANTITY= 55 your p r o f i t was $30 Want t o see H i s t o r y Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Want t o see Ordered Report (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Want to see Summary Graph (YES or NO) [NO ]? : Y 94 30 X 29 X 28 X 27 X 26 X 25 X•* • • Graph of PROFIT/10 vs PRICE,QTY * • 4 * * * 19 X 18 17 P 16 E 15 I. . . . 14 C 13 E 12 11 X 10 X... . 9 X 8 X 7 X 6 X 5 X • • • • 4 X 3 X 2 X I X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX QO&NTITY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 12345678911111111112222222222333333333344444444445555£55555666666 012345678901234567890123 45678901234567890123 456789012345 Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l {1-30) £ 15] : Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced {1-70) [ 5 5 ] : 40 *. *« • •» » P e r i o d 9 has been s i m u l a t e d . with PRICE= 15 and QUAHTITX= 40 your p r o f i t was $70 95 You are the General Manager f o r a s m a l l company c a l l e d XYZ (name d i s g u i s e d ) , which manufactures and s e l l s one product, Widgets (again d i s g u i s e d ) . In your c o n t i n u i n g e f f o r t s t o meet company o b j e c t i v e s - i . e . to maximize p r o f i t (what else!!!) - you r e c e n t l y h i r e d an M.E.A. student, John Doe, to undertake some q u a n t i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s . John was i n s t r u c t e d to develop a model and computer program t o help f i n d the o p t i m a l R e t a i l P r i c e and Produ c t i o n Quantity f o r Widgets. A f t e r weeks of d i l i g e n t work he has produced a very \" s o p h i s t i c a t e d \" WATFIV program to do the job. I t i s Monday morning, and John i s w a i t i n g f o r you when you a r r i v e a t the o f f i c e . He proudly presents h i s work to you. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , being from a famous E a s t e r n Business School, he never thought t o use the computer to a c t u a l l y determine the optimum a u t o m a t i c a l l y ; i n s t e a d , he designed a program with which you could seek the o p t i -mum y o u r s e l f (by spending p r e c i o u s time at a computer t e r m i n a l , s i m u l a t i n g the r e s u l t s of d i f f e r e n t P r i c e / Q u a n t i t y combinations). You r e f r a i n from s t r a n g l i n g John, and calmly thank him f o r h i s e f f o r t s (while making a mental memo t o h i r e o n l y O.B.C. graduates i n the f u t u r e ) , You then proceed t o the Computing Centre t o t r y cut the new program. As you a r r i v e a t the t e r m i n a l room, you r e c a l l your marketing manager r e p o r t i n d i c a t i n g t h a t your f i r m ' s demand f u n c t i o n i s r a t h e r unusual. You make a mental note not to l e t your i n t u i t i o n l e a d you a s t r a y , and then s t a r t running the program... , *** THE PROGRAM *** The s i m u l a t i o n i s d i r e c t e d by you, the user. When the word \"COMMAND :\" appears, e i t h e r e n t e r a command or j u s t press RETURN t o get a l i s t of a v a i l a b l e commands., Remember; A l l commands may be typed i n f u l l OR abb r e v i a t e d as you wish. Some h e l p f u l h i n t s : 1. The p o s s i b l e p r i c e range i s 1-30. 2. The p o s s i b l e q u a n t i t y range i s 1-70., 3. There i s one and on l y one maximum p o i n t . 4. The game w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y stop a f t e r 25 minutes. 5. The game w i l l a l s o stop when you f i n d the optimum. 6. The optimum values are d i f f e r e n t f o r everyone! 7. A f t e r a few pe r i o d s , be sure t o t r y a l l r e p o r t s i n order t o l e a r n what they are... , ***** Only a v a i l a b l e commands are: QUANTITY SIMULATE HISTORY ORDERING GRAPH PRICE Set r e t a i l p r i c e f o r t h i s period Set production q u a n t i t y f o r t h i s p e r i o d Simulate t h i s p e r i o d ' s r e s u l t s Provide H i s t o r y Report Provide Ordered H i s t o r y Report Provide Summary Graph COMMAND : PRICE Enter d e s i r e d p r i c e l e v e l (1-30) [ 1 0 ] : 15 COMMAND : QUANTITY Enter d e s i r e d q u a n t i t y produced (1-70) [ 2 5 ] : COMMAND : SIMULATE Pe r i o d 1 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PRICE= 15 and QUANTITY= 25 your p r o f i t was $35 COMMAND : PRICE 15 QUANTITY 35 COMMAND : SIM Perio d 2 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PRICE= 15 and QUANTITY^ 3 5 your p r o f i t was $39 COMMAND : P 15 Q 45 S Period 3 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PRICE= 15 and QUANTITY= 45 your p r o f i t was $36 COMMAND : P 10 Q 35 S Period 4 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PBICE= 10 and QUANTITY= 35 your p r o f i t was $45 97 COMMAND : P 20 S Period 5 has been s i m u l a t e d . . . With PBICE= 20 and QUANTIT¥= 35 your p r o f i t was $12 Please CAREFULLY answer the f o l l o w i n g t h r e e q u e s t i o n s : I f 100 other people were p l a y i n g t h i s game r i g h t now, how many would be c l o s e r to t h e optimum than you (0-100)? : 25 How would you r a t e the \" u s a b i l i t y \" of t h i s proqram; from 1 to 9, where ^ f r u s t r a t i n g , 9=convenient (1-9)? : 7 How would you d e s c r i b e your present a t t i t u d e toward t h i s game; 1=bored, 9=enjoying i t (1-9)? : 9 COMMAND : ***** Only a v a i l a b l e commands a r e : PRICE Set r e t a i l p r i c e f o r t h i s period QUANTITY Set production q u a n t i t y f o r t h i s p e r i o d SIMULATE Simulate t h i s p e r i o d 1 s' r e s u l t s HISTORY Provide H i s t o r y Report ORDERING Pr o v i d e Ordered H i s t o r y Report GRAPH Pr o v i d e Summary Graph COMMAND : HIST H i s t o r y Report f o r most re c e n t 2 5 p e r i o d s . PEBIOD PBICE QTY PROFIT 1 15 25 35 2 15 35 39 3 15 45 36 4 10 35 45 5 20 35 12 98 COMMAND : GBDEBING H i s t o r y Beport - ordered by P r o f i t . PEBIOD PBICE QTY PBOFIT 4 10 35 45 2 15 35 39 3 15 45 3 6 1 15 25 35 5 20 35 12 COMMAND : G 30 29 X 28 X 27 X 26 X 25 24 X 23 X 22 X 21 X 20 19 X 18 17 p 16 B 15 14 c 13 E 12 11 X 10 9 X 8 X 7 X 6 X 5 4 X 3 X 2 X 1 X Graph o f PBOEIT/10 vs. PBICE,QTY [XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX QUANTITY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 12345678911111111112222 22222233333333 33444 44444445555555555666666 01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345 99 Appendix D PBOFJT FUNCTION A one-quarter p o r t i o n o f the p r o f i t f u n c t i o n (read i n by the computer game program) appears on the next page, with the highest p r o f i t i n each row u n d e r l i n e d . C l e a r l y , the f u n c t i o n i s simply a \"winding mountain r i d g e . \" To r e c r e a t e the e n t i r e p r o f i t f u n c t i o n , simply r e f l e c t the matrix on the next page along the l e f t edge and then along the bottom edge, y i e l d i n g a \"four-arm mountain\" with the peak a t 80. The p r o f i t f u n c t i o n i s , t h us, monotone i n c r e a s i n g i n two dimensions, with one g l o b a l maximum and no l o c a l maxima - yet i s s t i l l complex enough to keep each p a r t i c i p a n t t h i n k i n g . 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 11 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 13 12 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 4 6 7 9 10 11 13 14 13 12 1 1 9 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 15 14 13 11 10 9 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 5 7 8 10 11 13 15 16 15 14 12 11 9 8 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 12 14 16 17 16 14 12 10 9 7 0 0 1 2 3 4 6 7 9 11 13 15 17 18 17 16 14 12 10 9 7 0 0 1 2 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 19 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 0 1 2 3 5 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 19 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 0 1 2 3 5 6 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 6 5 0 1 2 3 5 7 9 11 14 16 18 20 22 20 18 16 14 11 9 7 5 1 2 4 5 7 9 12 14 17 19 21 23 22 20 18 16 14 11 9 7 5 1 2 4 6 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 24 22 20 17 15 12 10 7 6 4 1 3 4 6 8 10 13 15 18 21 23 25 23 21 18 15 13 10 8 6 4 3 4 6 8 11 13 16 19 21 24 26 25 23 21 18 15 13 10 8 6 4 3 4 6 8 11 14 17 19 22 25 27 25 22 19 17 14 11 8 6 4 3 3 4 6 9 11 14 17 20 23 26 28 26 23 20 17 14 11 9 6 4 3 3 4 7 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 29 27 24 21 18 15 12 9 7 4 3 5 7 9 12 15 18 22 25 28 30 29 27 24 21 18 15 12 9 7 4 3 5 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 29 31 29 25 22 19 16 13 10 7 5 3 2 5 7 10 13 16 20 23 26 30 32 30 26 23 20 16 13 10 7 5 3 2 5 8 10 14 17 20 24 27 30 33 30 27 24 20 17 14 10 8 5 3 2 5 8 10 14 17 21 24 28 31 34 31 28 24 21 17 14 10 8 5 3 2 5 8 11 14 18 22 25 29 32 35 32 29 25 22 18 14 11 8 5 4 2 9 11 15 19 23 27 30 34 37 36 33 30 26 22 18 15 11 8 6 4 2 9 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 39 36 32 28 24 20 16 12 9 6 4 2 0 9 13 17 21 25 29 34 38 41 38 34 29 25 21 17 13 9 6 4 2 0 10 13 18 22 26 31 35 40 p a i r s were si m u l a t e d (imagine p r i c e running from 1 t o 30 along the v e r t i c a l a x i s , and g u a n t i t y running from 1 to 70 along the h o r i z o n t a l a x i s ) . , By connecting the p o i n t s , one can get a good f e e l f o r what the o r i g i n a l p a r t i c i p a n t was up t o (see the end c f chapter s i x f o r f u r t h e r d e t a i l s ) . S A M P L E - ' S Y S T E M A T I C P R O T O C O L * F I N I S H E D o S A M P L E . \" S T R U C T U R E D T R I A L A N D E R R O R \" S O T F I N I S H E D 107 Appendix G SUMMARY OF RESULTS T h i s l a s t appendix summarizes the r e s u l t s o f the s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t s of the 26 hypotheses c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s t h e s i s (see chapter s i x f o r d e t a i l s ) . In the summary on the next pages, the hypotheses are broken down i n t o subparts whenever necessary. In the l a s t column, i t i s noted whether each hypothesis was r e j e c t e d or accepted { i . e . supported), based upon whether or not the n u l l hypothesis {of e q u a l i t y ) was accepted or r e j e c t e d , r e s p e c t i v e l y . HYP. DEPENDENT VARIABLE IND. VAR. SIGH. A/R 1. Minutes/Period Mode Exp S t y l e Risk ns 0.09 ns 0.05 Bel acc Re j acc 2. Termination Mode Exp S t y l e Risk ns 0.00 ns ns Eej Acc Ie j Re j 3. Confidence Mode Exp S t y l e Risk ns 0.01 0.08 0.11 Rej Acc Acc acc 4. Game Version Min/Per. Term, C o n f i d . ns ns ns Rej Rej Rej 5. Experience L e v e l Min/Per. Term. C o n f i d . 0.04 0.00 0.00 Acc Acc Acc 6. C o g n i t i v e S t y l e Min/Per. Term. C o n f i d . 0.15 0.05 0.01 Acc ACC Acc 7. Bisk a t t i t u d e Min/Per. Terra. C o n f i d . 0.02 0. 11 0.03 Acc Acc Acc 8. E r r o r Rate Mode/Exp ns Rej 9. Opening D e f a u l t s —, Acc 10. YES/MO De f a u l t s ns Acc 11. Acc, of D e f a u l t s Exp S t y l e Bisk ns 0.05 ns Be j Acc Rej 12. Extent o f Abbrev. Mode Exp S t y l e Risk 0.01 ns ns 0.04 Acc Eej Rej Acc 13. a b b r e v i a t i o n Length 0. 00 ACC 14. Ccmp. over Time Min/Per. 0.00 Acc 15. Comp. over Time C o n f i d . ns Rej 16. Ccmp. over Time U s a b i l i t y 0.09 Acc 17. Comp. over Time Abbrev. 0.01 Acc 18. Cemp. over Time H i s t o r i e s 0.00 Ace 19. Comp. over Time Grd-Hist ns R«1 20. , Comp. over Time Graphs 0.02 Acc 21. H i s t o r y Reports Mode 0.00 Acc Exp 0. 03 Acc S t y l e ns Bej Risk ns Bej 22. Ordered H i s t . Reports Mode 0. 01 Acc Exp ns Sej S t y l e ns Bej B i s k ns Bej 23. Graphs Mode ns Bej Exp 0. 11 Acc S t y l e 0. 15 Acc Bisk ns Bej 24. . P r o t o c o l s t r u c t u r e Exp 0. 13 Acc S t y l e 0.03 Acc B i s k ns Bej 25. , P r o t o c o l D i s p e r s i o n Exp 0. 07 Acc S t y l e ns Re j Bi s k ns Bej "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0094237"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "Business Administration"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "An experimental study of the man-machine interface"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/20780"@en .