Experimental comparison of complex and simple sounds in menu and hierarchy sonification

Abstract

Sounds can provide user with either new (functional) or redundant information about events and actions in electronic device user interfaces. In this study, we developed one simple and another complex sound scheme for menu browsing in a mobile phone. The complex sounds were hypothesized to enhance users' performance, compared with silence, but they did not. Instead, the simple scheme enhanced users performance. The results are discussed in relation to why and how informativeness and semantic character of sounds would affect user performance.