Age-related effects of multi-screen setup on task performance and eye movement characteristics

Multi-screens or wide screen setup is becoming increasingly popular in many work places and training environments. However, there has been limited studies of their effect on human health and performance. In this study, we investigate individuals performance and eye movement characteristics while performing a visual task on multi-screen setup consisting of three monitors. During the task, subjects had to share their attention among three screens to identify the location of the visual stimulus and respond accordingly. Subjects' score was calculated based on validity of input to stimulus and response time, while fixation characteristics were investigated with respect to eye movements. The results show that the use of 3-screens added extra demand on the individual causing a decrease on the score and decrease in reaction time. In a further investigation, we found statistically significant negative correlation between the task score and the participant's age while a statistically significant positive correlation between the response time and the participant's age. In addition, the use of multi-screens to perform the tasks caused both fixation occurrences and duration to decrease, denoting an increased alertness since respond was given with less fixation duration and occurrences and less response time.