Abstract
In this experiment, subjects used three interfaces to CSCW and multimedia communications systems. All systems supported the same underlying services, but each was based on a different metaphor. The metaphors were chosen to typify three classes of metaphor: spatial, interactional and activity-based. The users found the systems very easy to use but did not build accurate mental models of them about which they could reason. Instead, they built very different types of model according to the class of metaphor. The metaphor used affected more than just the model of the system; it also affected what the users formed models of. These mental models appear to correspond to the ‘layers’ of signification identified in semiotics literature.
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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Condon, C., Keuneke, S. (1994). Metaphors and layers of signification: The consequences for advanced user service interfaces. In: Kugler, HJ., Mullery, A., Niebert, N. (eds) Towards a Pan-European Telecommunication Service Infrastructure — IS&N '94. IS&N 1994. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 851. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0013400
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0013400
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