Effects of cursor freeze time on the performance of older adult users on mouse-related tasks

Abstract

This study determines the optimum range of cursor freeze time (CFT) for basic target acquisition tasks. The effect of five levels of CFT was measured on double-clicking, clicking, and drag-and-drop operations, along with the inconvenience perceived by users at these levels. Older adult users find these standard mouse operations challenging because of slipping and accidental cursor movement. In this study, 24 older adult participants (13 males and 11 females) performed the abovementioned tasks repeatedly across five levels of CFT (0, 200, 400, 600, and 800 ms) and rated their perceived inconvenience at each level. CFT was found to have a significant effect on the three basic target acquisition tasks as well as the inconvenience perceived by participants. Performance on the drag-and-drop task was negatively influenced when the CFT was increased from 600 to 800 ms. The analysis suggests that a CFT of 200-400 ms is the optimum range for improved performance on the tasks.