Exploring the Impact of Gestalt Laws of Human Perception in Business Information Visualization Context: An Eye-Tracking Study

Gestalt principles of proximity, continuity, similarity, and connectedness are fundamental in understanding how we perceive and process information. While these principles have been widely theorized and have led to various design standards and best practices in the context of business information visualization, there’s a lack of empirical eye tracking evidence supporting them. To bridge this gap, this research investigates the effects of Gestalt laws on viewing behavior and effort (measured through eye-tracking metrics) and the performance (speed) of users engaging with data visualizations. In this controlled, within-subject experimental design with 22 participants, the present study deploys four experiments and finds support for three out of four principles. This research not only contributes to the field by providing empirical data but also offers insights into the effectiveness of data visualization design principles and best practices.