Causal temporal order in HCI

Abstract

This paper proposes applying principles of human causal reasoning to graphical interface design to make interfaces more intuitive. In particular, we present a design guideline for making graphical interfaces consistent with causal temporal order and demonstrate its effectiveness in an experiment where participants solve a puzzle with a novel interface. We also present preliminary results of its application to a text formatting task and propose several other causal principles that are directly applicable to interface design.