Effects of Feedback Type on Touchscreen Navigation for Younger and Older Users

This study investigates how feedback from different modalities affect window navigation tasks performed on a touchscreen by younger and older users. Thirty-two younger and 32 older users moved a window toward one of four or eight target areas with no feedback or visual, tactile or visual–tactile feedback. Visual feedback produced significantly higher accuracy and shorter task completion times than tactile feedback. Generally, visual–tactile feedback did not produce statistically higher accuracy or shorter task completion time than visual feedback. However, visual–tactile feedback prevented both younger and older users from overshooting the windows. Additionally, when users attempted to move the window to one of the eight target areas, the visual–tactile feedback helped younger users perform better. According to theories about human processing, the reason for the subtle advantage of visual–tactile feedback is that the unintuitive tactile force induces a higher cognitive load than straightforward visual information during window navigation. Nevertheless, visual–tactile feedback elicited the best user experience, as measured by questionnaires on emotion and fatigue, gesture usability and preference. Furthermore, more older users prefer visual–tactile feedback than younger users. Therefore, visual–tactile feedback should be considered, and the tactile feedback should be modified to be more intuitive in window navigation tasks. Research Highlights Visual feedback improved task performance more than tactile feedback in window navigation task. Visual–tactile feedback did not improve task performance compared to visual feedback. Visual–tactile feedback prevented users from overshooting the window. More older users than younger users prefer visual–tactile feedback.