Effects Of Auditory Icons Assistance On Attentional Processing Of Visual Warning Information And Usability Evaluation

Life is often fraught with various dangers and emergencies,which necessitate the use of warning icons to alert people and enable them to respond in time.These icons mainly serve as warnings through visual presentation.However,in real dangerous situations,the role of a single visual icon is limited,which requires the use of other channels of information to complement each other.Many studies have shown that auditory feedback can significantly improve task performance in situations with limited vision or limited visual resources.So,how can we find effective auditory assistance to enhance the warning effect of visual icons? Based on the analysis of existing literature,this study intends to use the auditory icons with practical significance and mapping relationship with visual icons as experimental materials.Through the two classic attention paradigms of dot probe and visual search,and through the community warning simulation,this study systematically investigates the influence of different types of auditory assistance on visual warning icon attention processing,and verifies the effectiveness of auditory assistance.The usability of visual-auditory icons assisted by auditory icons is also measured.This study intends to explore the influence of auditory icons on the attentional processing of visual warning icons through three studies(a total of 5 experiments),and conducts a usability test on the audio-visual warning icons designed in the research.Study 1 includes Experiment 1 and Experiment 2,using the point probe paradigm and the visual search paradigm respectively,to investigate the effect of auditory icons at different presentation times(including simultaneous presentation of visual and auditory stimuli,early presentation of auditory stimuli,and delayed presentation of auditory stimuli)on visual warning.Informational attentional bias and the impact of visual search.Research 2 includes Experiment 3 and Experiment 4,simulated a community governance warning scenario and examined the effects of different types of auditory icons(including natural warning auditory icons and human sound warning auditory icons)on attentional bias and visual search for visual warning information in a more ecologically relevant context,using a point probe paradigm and a visual search paradigm,respectively.Study 2 only used the best auditory icons presentation time screened out in Study 1,but divided the auditory icons into different types.Study 3(Experiment 5)is usability evaluation,using subjective evaluation questionnaires,to conduct usability tests on various audio-visual warning icons designed in this study,in order to evaluate users’ subjective experience evaluation of different types of audiovisual warning icons.Research result:(1)Study 1 found that in the early processing stage of attention,the synchronously presented auditory icons would induce the subjects to pay attention to the visual warning signs,but this phenomenon did not appear in the late processing stage of attention.Delayed auditory icons can increase the search efficiency of visual warning icons,while simultaneous appearance of hearing signs can improve the search accuracy of visual warning icons.(2)In Study 2,it was found that both natural and human auditory icons could cause attentional bias to the visual warning icon,and the natural auditory icons as auxiliary auditory information improved the reaction speed of the subjects.The two kinds of audiograms as auditory aids have the same effect on the search performance of visual icons.(3)Study 3 found that both visual and auditory warnings are the most common and commonly used warning methods,and the subjects rated both of them as highly effective and favorable.When the auditory-assisted visual warning icon forms a visualauditory warning icon followed by a delayed appearance of the auditory icons,it can bring better subjective user experience to the user.The results of this study show that warning signs can customize personalized audio-visual warning icons according to specific task requirements,specific situations,and users’ subjective feelings.The results enrich the existing research in the field of audio-visual warning,and also provide scientific suggestions for related sign design.