ABSTRACT
A compatible mapping of displays to controls is in part determined by the natural tendencies of a population. The literature on population stereotypes, which dates as far back as that on S-R compatibility, explores people’s tendencies to associate certain control actions with specific display properties. A sample of individuals from the population of interest is typically provided with paper-and-pencil illustrations of various display and control configurations, or with actual display-control devices, and asked to indicate how they would operate the control to produce a specified change in the display. Sometimes they are asked the meaning that a particular display feature signifies. The stereotypical response is the one that is provided most frequently, and the percentage of individuals giving that response is an indication of the strength of the stereotype. The basic idea is that for situations in which there are strong population stereotypes, an interface will benefit by being designed to be consistent with the stereotypes.
