The Impact of Animation on Visual Search Tasks in a Web Environment: A Multi-Year Study

Proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information System (AMCIS’03), Tampa, FL, August 2003

Posted: 7 Nov 2013

Date Written: 2003

Abstract

Research results from a previous study show that animation as non-primary information significantly reduces information-seeking performance in a web-based environment (Zhang, 1999, 2000). Furthermore, in a different study, Zhang (2001) finds that animation on the left side of a screen has a higher negative impact on task performance than animation on the right side; animation also has different impact on task performance depending on its onset timing. This paper reports an investigation on whether animation’s location and timing impacts have changed over the years, as the Web has become a commodity and people are more used to animated online advertisements on the Web. The results from four experiments during the 1999-2003 period indicate that (1) animation as non-primary information still significantly affects information-seeking performance in almost all animated conditions, (2) animation retains the significant main effect on side: the left side has higher negative impact than the right side, (3) animation retains the significant main effect on onset timing, although (4) animation’s onset timing effects have changed slightly over the years. We discuss the effects from a theoretical perspective as well as the practical implications for website designers and online advertisers in the design of effective webpages with animated online advertisements.

Keywords: Human-computer interaction, information seeking, visual attention, visual interference, animation, online advertising, experiment, multi-year study

Suggested Citation

Zhang, Ping and Massad, Nelson, The Impact of Animation on Visual Search Tasks in a Web Environment: A Multi-Year Study (2003). Proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information System (AMCIS’03), Tampa, FL, August 2003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2350593

Ping Zhang (Contact Author)

Syracuse University ( email )

Hinds Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244
United States

Nelson Massad

Independent ( email )

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