THE COLOR OF CONFUSION IN AN EXPERT WORLD

The power of images to convey information about complex Earth systems is well known, as is the potential for misinterpretations to unintentionally arise from seemingly simple depictions. We report on an eye tracking- and interview-based investigation of expert-novice interactions with temperature maps, revealing striking differences in gaze behavior as a function of color palette and expertise level. Participants (n=28) determined to have color normal vision, were shown maps in three different design conditions depicting global monthly mean surface temperatures for March 2009. Each design condition employed a different color scheme, including the hue-based spectral scheme (rainbow), the lightness-based grayscale scheme (gray), and a lightness-based purple scheme (purple). Participants wore a Mobile Eye eye-tracking unit and were asked a series of protocol questions while viewing each of the three maps on a 24” monitor. Treatment effects were minimized through rotation of the order in which maps were shown to participants. Questions were preceded by an initial ten seconds of free viewing. Preliminary analysis of “first-viewed” maps indicates that both expertise level and design variables influence viewing behavior. While the cohort of experts attended to a set of common features (concentrated fixation pattern), novice gaze behavior was often circular and non-uniform (dispersed fixation pattern). Similarly, cross-cohort viewing patterns of the hue-based displays (rainbow) was different from the lightness-based (purple and gray) viewing behavior. For example, within the spectral condition, participants’ gaze was attracted most to red portions of the display (areas of warm continental temperatures) and much less to the green areas. These data indicate that image design, even for simple temperature maps, does impact visual attention, and that experts exhibit image viewing behavior that is quite different from non-experts.