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The present paper is the second dealing with the usefulness of the concept of S-R compatibility for behavior theory. This concept concerns the effects of a class of variables that influence task difficulty in experiments in which learning, complexity (amount of information), and discriminability are controlled. Compatibility effects are conceived as resulting from hypothetical information transformation processes (encoding and/or decoding) that intervene between receptor and effector activity. The rate of processing information is assumed to be maximum when these receding processes are at a minimum.The objective of the study of compatibility effects is to discover conditions under which these effects occur, and to establish principles that will permit specification of the nature and difficulty of perceptual-motor tasks in terms of (hypothetical) intervening information transformation processes. Such processes must be inferred, just as do constructs such as habit strength, from measures of performance obtained in appropriate experiments. The type of experiment of greatest interest for the present purpose is one in which it is possible to measure the rate of information trans-

From the user's point of view, what are the desirable characteristics of pushbuttons for use in 500‐type telephone sets? The studies reported bear on this question and also on questions of how people process information when keying telephone numbers. Four categories of design features were studied: key arrangement, force‐displacement characteristics, bidton‐top design and central office factors. The results indicate that considerable latitude exists for key set design in terms of user performance; however, the preference judgments are more selective. The studies also showed that the manner in which the person acquired and keyed the telephone number influenced performance appreciably.

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