BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Let's shift up to the cognitive level of engagement, and move from the limbic system into less "hardwired" parts of the brain. Cognitive engagement comes in several flavors. The first is the cognitive component of our reflex response to novelty. Something different in our environment will capture our attention, but that stimulus demands analysis once attended to. In other words, after the primitive response of "Where is it?" comes "What is it?"
This compulsion to evaluate new stimulus at a glance can be a problem for application designers. One of the first responses a user has to a new software application is, "Can I get this to do what I want it to do?" Is there a clear indication of how to proceed? Perhaps there are interface elements that the user is familiar with. Perhaps there are so many widgets on the screen that the user is intimidated. Novelty is useful when exploiting curiosity, but the design goal here is rapid identification. Pattern recognition should be facilitated and arousal reduced. For this reason interface standards tend to be preferred by users over interface techniques that change from application to application. Witness the devoted following that many operating systems have enjoyed. The downside to this, of course, is a stifling of innovation. [For instance, I am typing this on a QWERTY keyboard, despite the demonstrated superiority of other keyboard layouts.]