The effect of age on mapping auditory icons to visual icons for computer interface design

This research explored the abilities of subjects in grade 1 (6–7 years old) and grade 3 (8–9 years old) to identify auditory icons that are commonly introduced in software applications by mapping the auditory icons to visual icons present in a computer interface. The interface used in the experiment was constructed with Visual Basic and involved forty auditory icons and forty corresponding visual icons. It was hypothesized that the third grade subjects would be better equipped to map the auditory icons to visual icons present in the interface due to the ecological frequency of everyday sounds. The hypothesis was proven and suggestions for additional researcg are provided.