A COMPARISON OF THREE DIAL SHAPES FOR CHECK-READING INSTRUMENT PANELS

Abstract Three dial shapes for check reading were compared in an experiment in which three matched groups of 24 subjects each watched one panel for two periods of 90 minutes. Results show that, using either speed of response or number of stimuli missed as the criterion, a dial with a fixed pointer and a moving scale was inferior to a dial with a fixed scale and a moving pointer. There was a significant difference in response time between vertical linear and circular dials in favour of the former. But this result may be suspect because of the apparent unsatisfactory matching of the women subjects. There was no significant difference in the numbers of missed stimuli on these two dials. It is concluded that cither circular or edgewise dials may be used in panels according to circumstances. The results of a supplementary experiment with two subjects lasting 15 days suggested that deviations on dials in the top left and bottom right of the panels are noticed more quickly than those in the other parts.