An Eye Tracking Study of Viewing Behaviour and Preferences of Arabic, English and Chinese Users

The aim of this research is to investigate possible variations in visual behaviour and eye movements on webpages among users from three different cultures (Arab, English and Chinese). The paper reports an experiment using eye tracking technique and questionnaire to understand how users from different countries fixate on webpages with different layouts and which type of layout they preferred. Thirty users from each group were exposed to three types of webpage (image-based, text-based and a webpage with unfamiliar design). The results indicated similarities and differences in fixations between the three cultural groups. Dissimilar scanning patterns were exhibited from each group. This study also revealed differences in preferences across Arab, English and Chinese users. This study contributes to the field of Human Computer Interaction by providing new insights into the similarities and differences between the users from the Middle East, the West and the Far East from the perspective of visual behaviour and preferences.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Mohammad Alsaffar

Lyn Pemberton

Karina Rodriguez Echavarria

Conference

Publication date: July 2018

Publication date (Print): July 2018

Pages: 1-13

Affiliations

[1 ] University of Brighton, UK

Article

DOI: 10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.51

SO-VID: 19ad7c53-023b-4b82-ae4f-94711b9455dc

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Conference name: Proceedings of the 32nd International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference

Conference acronym: HCI

Conference number: 32

Conference location: Belfast, UK

Conference date: 4 - 6 July 2018

Conference sponsor: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC)

Conference theme: Human Computer Interaction Conference

History

Product

1477-9358 BCS Learning & Development

Self URI (article page): https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/HCI2018.51

Self URI (journal page): https://ewic.bcs.org/

REFERENCES

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W. Alex 2014 Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age Oxford University Press
M. Alsaffar 2018 Online Visual Behaviour and Satisfaction: a Comparative Study of English, Arabic and Chinese Users. University of Brighton, UK
E. ArroyoT. SelkerW. Wei 2006 Usability Tool for Analysis of Web Designs Using Mouse Tracks In CHI’06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems 484 489
A. Badre 2001 The Effects of Cross Cultural Interface Design Orientation on World Wide Web User Performance. Georgia Institute of Technology 1 30
A. Bojko 2013 Eye Tracking the User Experience: A Practical Guide to Research M. Justak, ed. Brooklyn, New York Louis Rosenfeld
N. BonnardelA. PiolatL. Le Bigot 2011 The impact of colour on Website appeal and users’ cognitive processes. Displays 32 2 69 80
L. BradyC. Phillips 2003 Aesthetics and Usability: A Look at Color and Balance. Software Usability Research Laboratory Available at: http://usabilitynews.org/aesthetics-and-usability-a-look-at-color-and-balance/ [Accessed December 5, 2017]
P.B. BrandtzægJ. HeimA. Karahasanović 2011 Understanding the new digital divide — A typology of Internet users in Europe. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 69 3 123 138
P. CairnsA. Cox 2008 Research methods for human-computer interaction Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
L. CowenL.J. BallJ. Delin 2002 An Eye Movement Analysis of Web Page Usability In People and Computers XVI - Memorable Yet Invisible London Springer London 317 335
D. Cyr 2008 Modeling Website Design across Cultures?: Relationships to Trust , Satisfaction and E-loyalty ( Forthcoming Journal of Management Information Systems ) Modeling Website Design across Cultures?: Relationships to Trust , Satisfaction and E-loyalty. Journal of Management Information Systems 24 47 72
D. Cyr 2013 Website design, trust and culture: An eight country investigation. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 12 6 373 385
D. CyrM. HeadH. Larios 2010 Colour appeal in website design within and across cultures: A multi-method evaluation. International Journal of Human Computer Studies 68 1-2 1 21
L. DengM.S. Poole 2010 Affect in Web Interfaces: A Study of the Impacts of Web Page Visual Complexity and Order. MIS Quarterly 34 4 711
Y. DongK.P. Lee 2008 A cross-cultural comparative study of users’ perceptions of a webpage: With a focus on the cognitive styles of Chinese, Koreans and Americans. International Journal of Design 2 2 19 30
W. Dou 2010 Brand Positioning Strategy Using Search Engine Marketing. MIS Quarterly 34 2 261
A. FaiolaS. a Matei 2005 Cultural Cognitive Style and Web Design: Beyond a Behavioral Inquiry into Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 11 1 375 394
P. FraternaliM. Tisi 2008 Identifying cultural markers for web application design targeted to a multi-cultural audience. Proceedings - 8th International Conference on Web Engineering, ICWE 2008 231 239
G.L. GeisslerG.M. ZinkhanR.T. Watson 2006 The Influence of Home Page Complexity on Consumer Attention, Attitudes, and Purchase Intent. Journal of Advertising 35 69 80
J. HartmannA. SutcliffeA. De Angeli 2007 Investigating attractiveness in web user interfaces. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI ’07 387
M. HeadD. Cyr 2013 Website design in an international context: The role of gender in masculine versus feminine oriented countries. Computers in Human Behavior 29 4 1358 1367
M.D. Hernandez 2017 Escaping the corner of death? An eye-tracking study of reading direction influence on attention and memory. Journal of Consumer Marketing 34 1 1 10
W.D. HoyerD.J. MacInnis 1997 Consumer Behavior Houghton Mifflin
H.C. Hsieh 2008 A New Model for Cross-cultural Web Design. Brunel University
J. Jacko 2012 The human-computer interaction handbook?: fundamentals, evolving technologies, and emerging applications Third. CRC Press
R.J.K. JacobK.S. Karn 2003 Eye tracking in Human–Computer interaction and usability research: Ready to deliver the promises In The Mind’s Eye: Cognitive and Applied Aspects of Eye Movement Research Oxford Elsevier Science BV 573 605
S. JosephsonM.E. Holmes 2002 Attention to repeated images on the World-Wide Web: another look at scanpath theory. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 34 4 539 548
J. LazarJ.H. FengH. Hochheiser 2017 Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction Second Edi. Morgan Kaufmann
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H. LiX. SunK. Zhang 2007 Culture-Centered Design Cultural Factors in Interface Usability and Usability Tests In International Conference on Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Networking, and Parallel/Distributed Computing 843 847
G. Lindgaard 2011 An exploration of relations between visual appeal, trustworthiness and perceived usability of homepages. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 18 1 1 30
M. Marcos 2013 Cultural Differences on Seeking Information?: An Eye Tracking Study In CHI’ 13 Paris, France: ACM
M. MarcosF. Gavin 2015 Effect of Snippets on User Experience in Web Search In Proceedings of the XVI International Conference on Human Computer Interaction Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain: ACM 47
T. MasudaR.E. Nisbett 2001 Attending holistically versus analytically: comparing the context sensitivity of Japanese and Americans. Journal of personality and social psychology 81 5 922 34
J. Nielsen 2006 F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content. Nielsen Norman Group Available at: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/
J.W. PalmerW., J. 2002 Web Site Usability, Design, and Performance Metrics. Information Systems Research 13 2 151 167
S.E. PalmerK.B. Schloss 2010 Human preference for individual colors. Proceedings of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference 107 19 752718
B. Pan 2004 The determinants of web page viewing behavior: an eye-tracking study. Proceedings of the ETRA ’04 Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications 1 212 147 154
H.C. Purchase 2012 Experimental Human-Computer Interaction: A Practical Guide with Visual Examples New York, USA Cambridge University Press
J.A. Qutub 2008 A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Cognitive Styles in Arab and American Adult Learners Using Eye-Tracking to Measure Subtle Differences. George Mason University
K. Rayner 2006 The effect of word frequency, word predictability, and font difficulty on the eye movements of young and older readers. Psychology and Aging 21 3 448 465
K. Reinecke 2013 Predicting Users’ First Impressions of Website Aesthetics With a Quantification of Perceived Visual Complexity and Colorfulness In CHI Changing Perspectives
K. ReineckeA. ArborK.Z. Gajos 2014 Quantifying Visual Preferences Around the World In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Toronto, ON, Canada: ACM 11 20
K. ReineckeA. Bernstein 2013 Knowing What a User Likes: A Design Science Approach to Interfaces that Adapt to Culture. MIS Quarterly 37 2 427 453
C. Resort 2009 Culture ’ s Impact on Arabic Website Design In Proceedings of Human-Computer Interface International 1 9
B.N. SchenkmanF.U. Jonsson 2000 Aesthetics and preferences of webpages. Behaviour & Information Technology 19 5 367 377
M. SecklerK. OpwisA.N. Tuch 2015 Linking objective design factors with subjective aesthetics: An experimental study on how structure and color of websites affect the facets of users’ visual aesthetic perception. Computers in Human Behavior 49 375 389
C. SharmaS.K. Dubey 2014 Analysis of Eye Tracking Techniques in Usability and HCI Perspective In International Conference on Computing for Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom) 607 612
N. TractinskyA. Katz. & D. Ikar 2000 What is beautiful is usable. Interacting with Computers 13 2 127 145
A.N. Tuch 2012 Is beautiful really usable? Toward understanding the relation between usability, aesthetics, and affect in HCI. Computers in Human Behavior 28 5 1596 1607
A.N. Tuch 2009 Visual complexity of websites: Effects on users’ experience, physiology, performance, and memory. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 67 9 703 715
T. TullisM. SiegelE. Sun 2009 Are people drawn to faces on webpages? In Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 5
E. Tzanidou 2006 Evaluating usability of e-commerce sites by tracking eye movements
R. VatrapuM.A. Pérez-Quiñones 2006 Culture and Usability Evaluation: The Effects of Culture in Structured Interviews. Journal of Usability Studies 1 4 156 170
V. Venkatesh 2003 User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View. MIS Quarterly 27 3 425 478
Q. Wang 2014 An eye-tracking study of website complexity from cognitive load perspective. Decision Support Systems 62 1 10
Web Technology Surveys 2018 Usage Statistics of Content Languages for Websites Available at: http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language/all [Accessed March 18, 2018].

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] T. AhmedH. MouratidisD. Preston 2009 Website Design Guidelines: High Power Distance and High-Context Culture. International Journal of Cyber Society and Education 2 1 47 60

[2] W. Alex 2014 Cataloging the World: Paul Otlet and the Birth of the Information Age Oxford University Press

[3] M. Alsaffar 2018 Online Visual Behaviour and Satisfaction: a Comparative Study of English, Arabic and Chinese Users. University of Brighton, UK

[4] E. ArroyoT. SelkerW. Wei 2006 Usability Tool for Analysis of Web Designs Using Mouse Tracks In CHI’06 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems 484 489

[5] A. Badre 2001 The Effects of Cross Cultural Interface Design Orientation on World Wide Web User Performance. Georgia Institute of Technology 1 30

[6] A. Bojko 2013 Eye Tracking the User Experience: A Practical Guide to Research M. Justak, ed. Brooklyn, New York Louis Rosenfeld

[7] N. BonnardelA. PiolatL. Le Bigot 2011 The impact of colour on Website appeal and users’ cognitive processes. Displays 32 2 69 80

[8] L. BradyC. Phillips 2003 Aesthetics and Usability: A Look at Color and Balance. Software Usability Research Laboratory Available at: http://usabilitynews.org/aesthetics-and-usability-a-look-at-color-and-balance/ [Accessed December 5, 2017]

[9] P.B. BrandtzægJ. HeimA. Karahasanović 2011 Understanding the new digital divide — A typology of Internet users in Europe. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 69 3 123 138

[10] P. CairnsA. Cox 2008 Research methods for human-computer interaction Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

[11] L. CowenL.J. BallJ. Delin 2002 An Eye Movement Analysis of Web Page Usability In People and Computers XVI - Memorable Yet Invisible London Springer London 317 335

[12] D. Cyr 2008 Modeling Website Design across Cultures?: Relationships to Trust , Satisfaction and E-loyalty ( Forthcoming Journal of Management Information Systems ) Modeling Website Design across Cultures?: Relationships to Trust , Satisfaction and E-loyalty. Journal of Management Information Systems 24 47 72

[13] D. Cyr 2013 Website design, trust and culture: An eight country investigation. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 12 6 373 385

[14] D. CyrM. HeadH. Larios 2010 Colour appeal in website design within and across cultures: A multi-method evaluation. International Journal of Human Computer Studies 68 1-2 1 21

[15] L. DengM.S. Poole 2010 Affect in Web Interfaces: A Study of the Impacts of Web Page Visual Complexity and Order. MIS Quarterly 34 4 711

[16] Y. DongK.P. Lee 2008 A cross-cultural comparative study of users’ perceptions of a webpage: With a focus on the cognitive styles of Chinese, Koreans and Americans. International Journal of Design 2 2 19 30

[17] W. Dou 2010 Brand Positioning Strategy Using Search Engine Marketing. MIS Quarterly 34 2 261

[18] A. FaiolaS. a Matei 2005 Cultural Cognitive Style and Web Design: Beyond a Behavioral Inquiry into Computer-Mediated Communication. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 11 1 375 394

[19] P. FraternaliM. Tisi 2008 Identifying cultural markers for web application design targeted to a multi-cultural audience. Proceedings - 8th International Conference on Web Engineering, ICWE 2008 231 239

[20] G.L. GeisslerG.M. ZinkhanR.T. Watson 2006 The Influence of Home Page Complexity on Consumer Attention, Attitudes, and Purchase Intent. Journal of Advertising 35 69 80

[21] J. HartmannA. SutcliffeA. De Angeli 2007 Investigating attractiveness in web user interfaces. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI ’07 387

[22] M. HeadD. Cyr 2013 Website design in an international context: The role of gender in masculine versus feminine oriented countries. Computers in Human Behavior 29 4 1358 1367

[23] M.D. Hernandez 2017 Escaping the corner of death? An eye-tracking study of reading direction influence on attention and memory. Journal of Consumer Marketing 34 1 1 10

[24] W.D. HoyerD.J. MacInnis 1997 Consumer Behavior Houghton Mifflin

[25] H.C. Hsieh 2008 A New Model for Cross-cultural Web Design. Brunel University

[26] J. Jacko 2012 The human-computer interaction handbook?: fundamentals, evolving technologies, and emerging applications Third. CRC Press

[27] R.J.K. JacobK.S. Karn 2003 Eye tracking in Human–Computer interaction and usability research: Ready to deliver the promises In The Mind’s Eye: Cognitive and Applied Aspects of Eye Movement Research Oxford Elsevier Science BV 573 605

[28] S. JosephsonM.E. Holmes 2002 Attention to repeated images on the World-Wide Web: another look at scanpath theory. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 34 4 539 548

[29] J. LazarJ.H. FengH. Hochheiser 2017 Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction Second Edi. Morgan Kaufmann

[30] Y. LeeK.A. Kozar 2012 Understanding of website usability: Specifying and measuring constructs and their relationships. Decision Support Systems journal 52 2

[31] H. LiX. SunK. Zhang 2007 Culture-Centered Design Cultural Factors in Interface Usability and Usability Tests In International Conference on Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Networking, and Parallel/Distributed Computing 843 847

[32] G. Lindgaard 2011 An exploration of relations between visual appeal, trustworthiness and perceived usability of homepages. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction 18 1 1 30

[33] M. Marcos 2013 Cultural Differences on Seeking Information?: An Eye Tracking Study In CHI’ 13 Paris, France: ACM

[34] M. MarcosF. Gavin 2015 Effect of Snippets on User Experience in Web Search In Proceedings of the XVI International Conference on Human Computer Interaction Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain: ACM 47

[35] T. MasudaR.E. Nisbett 2001 Attending holistically versus analytically: comparing the context sensitivity of Japanese and Americans. Journal of personality and social psychology 81 5 922 34

[36] J. Nielsen 2006 F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content. Nielsen Norman Group Available at: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/

[37] J.W. PalmerW., J. 2002 Web Site Usability, Design, and Performance Metrics. Information Systems Research 13 2 151 167

[38] S.E. PalmerK.B. Schloss 2010 Human preference for individual colors. Proceedings of Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference 107 19 752718

[39] B. Pan 2004 The determinants of web page viewing behavior: an eye-tracking study. Proceedings of the ETRA ’04 Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications 1 212 147 154

[40] H.C. Purchase 2012 Experimental Human-Computer Interaction: A Practical Guide with Visual Examples New York, USA Cambridge University Press

[41] J.A. Qutub 2008 A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Cognitive Styles in Arab and American Adult Learners Using Eye-Tracking to Measure Subtle Differences. George Mason University

[42] K. Rayner 2006 The effect of word frequency, word predictability, and font difficulty on the eye movements of young and older readers. Psychology and Aging 21 3 448 465

[43] K. Reinecke 2013 Predicting Users’ First Impressions of Website Aesthetics With a Quantification of Perceived Visual Complexity and Colorfulness In CHI Changing Perspectives

[44] K. ReineckeA. ArborK.Z. Gajos 2014 Quantifying Visual Preferences Around the World In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Toronto, ON, Canada: ACM 11 20

[45] K. ReineckeA. Bernstein 2013 Knowing What a User Likes: A Design Science Approach to Interfaces that Adapt to Culture. MIS Quarterly 37 2 427 453

[46] C. Resort 2009 Culture ’ s Impact on Arabic Website Design In Proceedings of Human-Computer Interface International 1 9

[47] B.N. SchenkmanF.U. Jonsson 2000 Aesthetics and preferences of webpages. Behaviour & Information Technology 19 5 367 377

[48] M. SecklerK. OpwisA.N. Tuch 2015 Linking objective design factors with subjective aesthetics: An experimental study on how structure and color of websites affect the facets of users’ visual aesthetic perception. Computers in Human Behavior 49 375 389

[49] C. SharmaS.K. Dubey 2014 Analysis of Eye Tracking Techniques in Usability and HCI Perspective In International Conference on Computing for Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom) 607 612

[50] N. TractinskyA. Katz. & D. Ikar 2000 What is beautiful is usable. Interacting with Computers 13 2 127 145

[51] A.N. Tuch 2012 Is beautiful really usable? Toward understanding the relation between usability, aesthetics, and affect in HCI. Computers in Human Behavior 28 5 1596 1607

[52] A.N. Tuch 2009 Visual complexity of websites: Effects on users’ experience, physiology, performance, and memory. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 67 9 703 715

[53] T. TullisM. SiegelE. Sun 2009 Are people drawn to faces on webpages? In Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 5

[54] E. Tzanidou 2006 Evaluating usability of e-commerce sites by tracking eye movements

[55] R. VatrapuM.A. Pérez-Quiñones 2006 Culture and Usability Evaluation: The Effects of Culture in Structured Interviews. Journal of Usability Studies 1 4 156 170

[56] V. Venkatesh 2003 User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View. MIS Quarterly 27 3 425 478

[57] Q. Wang 2014 An eye-tracking study of website complexity from cognitive load perspective. Decision Support Systems 62 1 10

[58] Web Technology Surveys 2018 Usage Statistics of Content Languages for Websites Available at: http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_language/all [Accessed March 18, 2018].

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