Human Information Processing

Abstract

Human–computer interaction (HCI) is fundamentally an information-processing activity. The human information-processing approach characterizes human performance as progression through different mental processing stages from perception to action. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the information-processing approach, including its assumptions, theories, methods, and models. For example, we illustrate how the approach can be used to study various processing stages involved in choice-reaction tasks. We also show how laboratory research using the approach provides insights into the fundamental cognitive processes of memory, attention, problem-solving, and decision-making, providing example applications. Effective designs require system interaction to be compatible with human information-processing capabilities and the methods, theories, and models in human information processing are currently well-developed. We conclude that human information-processing analyses and models will continue to be useful tools for understanding and predicting human behavior in many domains relevant to HCI professionals.

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