Represented and representing dimensions in relational information displays

It is speculated that the processing of different types of information (e.g., quantitative, ordinal, or nominal data) will be affected by what type of visual display is used to present that information (e.g.. line graphs, shapes with varying levels of gray saturation, or shapes of different colors). People are expected to be able to more efficiently and accurately process and answer questions about the visual displays if the type of display (i.e., the representing dimension) provides neither too much nor too little information and matches the type of information (i.e., the represented dimension) being processed. In the present study we found that in general task performance was best when the represented and representing dimensions match. An exception to this is discussed.