Revisiting three ecological interface design experiments to investigate performance and control stability effects under normal conditions

This paper seeks to: (1) provide statistical evidence regarding operator task performance and control stability during the learning phase of two archival experiments in which participants in EID and non-EID interface groups were balanced by cognitive style; and (2) to compare task performance and control stability from these two experiments and a third archival experiment differentiated by the presence or absence of early faults and sensor noise. Participants in the EID condition of the first two studies 1) achieved target goals significantly faster, and 2) exhibited more stable control than those in the non-EID condition. When considered in context of the third study, the results again showed participants in the EID condition outperformed those in the non-EID condition. These results stand in contrast to previously reported findings, wherein no task performance differences were observed between these interface conditions.