Evidence for Shifting Cognitive Strategies when Icons Appear in Unexpected Locations

The present study examines the cognitive effects of placing icons in unexpected spatial locations within websites. Prior research has revealed evidence for cognitive conflict when web icons occur in unexpected locations (e.g., cart, top left), generally consistent with a dynamical systems models. Here, we compare the relative strength of evidence for both dual and dynamical systems models. Participants clicked on icons located in either expected (e.g., cart, top right) or unexpected (e.g., cart, top left) locations while mouse trajectories were continuously recorded. Trajectories were classified according to prototypes associated with each cognitive model. The dynamical systems model predicts curved trajectories, while the dual-systems model predicts straight and change of mind trajectories. Trajectory classification revealed that curved trajectories increased (+11%), while straight and change of mind trajectories decreased (−12%) when target icons occurred in unexpected locations (p < .001). Rather than employing a single cognitive strategy, users shift from a primarily dual-systems to dynamical systems strategy when icons occur in unexpected locations. Potential applications of this work include the assessment of cognitive impacts such as mental workload and cognitive conflict during real-time interaction with websites and other screen-based interfaces, personalization and adaptive interfaces based on an individual’s cognitive strategy, and data-driven A/B testing of alternative interface designs.