Neuroergonomic analysis of perihand space: effects of hand proximity on eye-tracking measures and performance in a visual search task

According to recent studies, cognitive processes are modulated by the proximity of the hands to a stimulus. Specifically, hand proximity (also known as nearby-hand or hand-presence effects) induces a bias to process information near the hands more precisely and this effect can be facilitative or debilitative depending on the task context. Two different distances of the hands in reference to the screen were studied as independent variables: hands placed on the screen and hands placed on the lap. The dependent variables were search times and different eye-tracking parameters. Given the age-related decline in the perception of peripersonal space, the results were analysed for two different age groups. Overall, we found a more detailed evaluation of information near the hands depending on age. In conclusion, the study presents a cognitive behavioural evaluation of human–computer interaction which can be used for touchscreen interface and interaction design as well as modelling human–system interaction.