Geospatial Perspective-Taking: How Well Do Decision Makers Choose Their Views?

Abstract

Today decision makers may benefit from richer sources of data and a wider variety of visualization tools than ever. However, the extent to which individuals make adequate use of a “toolkit” of visualization modes – choosing the right formats to support different task demands – has received relatively little attention. In the present study, a sample of 43 participants learned to perform three decision-making tasks with a five geospatial formats or “views.” When allowed to choose their own views prior to beginning different tasks, few participants spontaneously selected those displays that would provide the greatest performance support. Most participants fell prey to “naïve realism” (a preference for realistic-looking displays) or “viewpoint inertia” (a preference for familiar map-like displays). These data suggest that greater attention needs to be given to the training of basic visualization skills as well as possibly limiting display choices in some contexts.