Sunday, January 15, 2006

The Blink of an Eye

A recent study published in the academic journal Behaviour and Information Technology suggests that people assess the visual appeal of a web site in about 50 milliseconds. (See “Web users judge sites in the blink of an eye")

This research seems a bit suspect to me. The “knee-jerk” reflex (when the doctor hits you just below the knee with that little hammer) is about 50 milliseconds. And that doesn’t even involve the brain—just the spinal cord.

Nonetheless, it’s pretty clear we make snap judgements about web sites we visit. But 50 milliseconds? I don’t think so.

Posted by Richard Bloch

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