Smart-Home Interface Design: Layout Organization Adapted to Americans' and Koreans' Cognitive Styles

Increases in the number of household appliances and devices with RFID tags have created a need for efficient organization of smart-home interfaces in consideration of residents. Previous studies of information-grouping and cultural-differences in cognitive style on performance have yielded mixed results. Gender has not typically been considered, nor have subjective preferences been measured. We tested four participant groups (American and Korean males and females) and two interface groupings (functional and spatial). Participants performed tasks that required locating controls for specific devices/functions, after which they rated the interfaces on several scales. American males preferred the functional organization, but Koreans and American females tended to prefer the spatial organization. The results are consistent with Koreans' preference for thematic-structure and the view that men's and women's cognitive styles differ in masculine/individualistic cultures (U.S.) but not in feminine/collectivistic cultures (Korea). Potential applications include physical (e.g., power and wall-mounted switches) and virtual interactions (e.g., remote controls, GUI/Web/Phone). (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.