Cluttered centres: Interaction between eccentricity and clutter in attracting visual attention of readers of a 16th century map

Abstract

The study of the history of cognitive processes is essential to understand the co-evolution of humans and artefacts. In the current pioneer eye tracking experiment we used a complex and colorful early map as stimulus. We analyzed eye movements of 28 novice map readers. Our results suggests interaction between bottom-up (i.e. visual clutter) and top-down (eccentricity) cognitive processes in viewing patterns. These research findings represent a novel direction in studying the history of cognitive data visualizations and could be considered in directing contemporary design of user interfaces.