The effects of multimodal feedback and gender on task performance of stylus pen users

As various interactive input devices for computers have become available, the role of multimodal feedbacks generated by the devices has gained an increasing emphasis in recent years, with debates surrounding the relative efficiency of different feedback types of input devices. To address this and related issues, the present study conducted a 4 (types of feedback: visual vs. tactile vs. auditory vs. combined feedback) x 2 (gender: male vs. female) within-subject experiment to examine the effects of the type of feedbacks and gender on the efficiency and accuracy of a multimodal stylus pen. Results from the experiment showed that, regardless of the feedback type, males clicked the stylus faster than females while making more errors. A similar pattern was discovered when used the pen for dragging; males completed the dragging task faster than females while producing more errors. Interactions between the feedback type and gender as well as implications and limitations of the present study are discussed. © 2012 Park et al.