Auditory Progress Bars: Estimations of Time Remaining

Auditory Progress Bars: The effects of Feedback, Endpoint and Free Response on Estimations of Time Remaining

“…Auditory Progress Bars (APB) are non-speech auditory displays that indicate the status and progress of an ongoing task or activity (Kortum, Peres, Stallman, 2011). They differ from the visual progress bars (VPB) common in modern computer displays by the sensory system the user employs to interpret them (Crease et al, 1998;Kortum et al, 2011) VPBs are visual and APBs are aural. Advantages of APBs are: 1) they can be used when providing a visual display is not feasible, such as when users are too busy to visually monitor a task, or when a visual display is not available; 2) they can be used in conjunction with VPBs to allow users to apply their visual attention elsewhere while continuing to monitor the status of an activity; and 3) they are more appropriate for those who are visually impaired (Kortum et al, 2011).…”

“…The telephone hold time is a situation where a visual display is not available and where a progress indicator would be beneficial (Unzicker, 1999). Businesses report that customers and revenue are lost when the on-hold setting is excessively unpleasant, and it is not economically feasible to hire the number of staff required to eliminate the need to place callers on hold (Kortum et al, 2011). To attenuate customer dissatisfaction, some businesses provide status indicators with verbal messages; e.g.…”

“…Research suggests that APBs are a viable option for providing information about when a call will be answered using non-verbal auditory stimuli (Kortum et al 2011). This method is also less likely to distract callers from any secondary activity.…”

“…This method is also less likely to distract callers from any secondary activity. Interestingly, the presence or absence of auditory stimuli presented in a fixed interval of time has been shown to affect judgments regarding the interval's elapsed duration (Kortum et al 2011). For instances in which an auditory stimulus is present, the accuracy of such judgments appears contingent upon the acoustic properties of the heard stimulus .…”

“…Judgments of elapsed durations are more accurate when listening to stimuli of longer durations as opposed to stimuli of shorter durations; furthermore, the elapsed durations of shorter stimuli are more likely to be overestimated as opposed to stimuli longer in duration (Kortum, Peres, Knott, Bushey, 2005;Kortum, 2005, Kortum, Peres 2006. Businesses have interest in avoiding the former type of stimuli because of the negative correlation between telephone hold time and customer satisfaction (Kortum et al, 2011). The shorter callers perceive their wait to have lasted, the more satisfied they are with their experience (Kortum et al, 2011).…”