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The Illusion of Performance: The Effect of Phantom Display Refresh Rates on User Expectations and Reaction Times

Esther Bosch, Robin Welsch, Tamim Ayach, Christopher Katins, Thomas Kosch

TL;DR

The placebo effect is demonstrated, as participants believed in superior or inferior performance based on the narrative despite using the opposite refresh rate despite using the opposite refresh rate.

Abstract

User expectations impact the evaluation of new interactive systems. Increased expectations may enhance the perceived effectiveness of interfaces in user studies, similar to a placebo effect observed in medical studies. To showcase the placebo effect, we conducted a user study with 18 participants who performed a target selection reaction time test with two different display refresh rates. Participants saw a stated screen refresh rate before every condition, which corresponded to the true refresh rate only in half of the conditions and was lower or higher in the other half. Results revealed successful priming, as participants believed in superior or inferior performance based on the narrative despite using the opposite refresh rate. Post-experiment questionnaires confirmed participants still held onto the initial narrative. Interestingly, the objective performance remained unchanged between both refresh rates. We discuss how study narratives influence subjective measures and suggest strategies to mitigate placebo effects in user-centered study designs.

The Illusion of Performance: The Effect of Phantom Display Refresh Rates on User Expectations and Reaction Times

TL;DR

The placebo effect is demonstrated, as participants believed in superior or inferior performance based on the narrative despite using the opposite refresh rate despite using the opposite refresh rate.

Abstract

User expectations impact the evaluation of new interactive systems. Increased expectations may enhance the perceived effectiveness of interfaces in user studies, similar to a placebo effect observed in medical studies. To showcase the placebo effect, we conducted a user study with 18 participants who performed a target selection reaction time test with two different display refresh rates. Participants saw a stated screen refresh rate before every condition, which corresponded to the true refresh rate only in half of the conditions and was lower or higher in the other half. Results revealed successful priming, as participants believed in superior or inferior performance based on the narrative despite using the opposite refresh rate. Post-experiment questionnaires confirmed participants still held onto the initial narrative. Interestingly, the objective performance remained unchanged between both refresh rates. We discuss how study narratives influence subjective measures and suggest strategies to mitigate placebo effects in user-centered study designs.
Paper Structure (16 sections, 2 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 16 sections, 2 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction & Background
  2. Methodology
  3. Task & Experimental Setup
  4. Independent Variables
  5. Dependent Variables
  6. Procedure
  7. Participants
  8. Data Analysis & Results
  9. User Expectations
  10. Reaction Times
  11. Discussion
  12. User Expectations Manipulate Self-Assessments Prior Interaction
  13. User Expectations Manipulate Self-Assessments Post Interaction
  14. Objective User Performance
  15. Controlling for Placebo Effects in User-Centered Studies
  16. ...and 1 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Description of the target selection reaction time task. (a): A button appears on which the participants must click as fast and accurately as possible. (b): A new button appears on the screen, and the old button disappears.
  • Figure 2: Aggregated user expectations before and post-interaction. Our narrative manipulated the user expectations towards the used refresh rates. Allegedly used high refresh rates elicited high user expectations before and after interaction, even when lower refresh rates were used. In contrast, a narrative of low refresh rates lead to lower performance expectations even when high refresh rates were used. No significant difference was found for objective reaction time measures.