How do the effects of effort influence interactive search behavior?

Abstract

Interactive search refers to tasks wherein a searcher actively manipulates objects to find a target. Here, we examined the influence that physical effort has upon behavior and performance during an interactive search task. We achieved this by asking participants to search in person for a ‘T’ shape embedded upon the side of a set of cubes that varied in weight. Interactive search behaviors were recorded throughout the experiment using an optical motion tracking system. In all cases, we found no evidence that any discernible effects of effort emerged. Despite this, we offer three important contributions to the literature. First, our methodology enabled us to determine that, within our study, interactive search utilized a ‘nearest-next’ strategy, with searchers choosing to interact with the nearest cube to them on each trial. Second, contrary to expectations from purely visual search tasks, rather than waiting and examining the already-visible cube faces at the start of each trial, searchers opted instead to begin interacting with objects immediately. Third, response accuracy rates were no different between target-present and target-absent trials, suggesting that there is at least one point in which interactive search differs from visual search. Our findings lay down the foundation for future and more detailed examinations of live, in-person interactive search tasks.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Guido Maiello: orcid.org/0000-0001-6625-2583

ORCID for Hayward Godwin: orcid.org/0009-0005-1232-500X

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