D. Harris (Ed.): EPCE 2014, LNAI 8532, pp. 255–264, 2014. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014 Designing the Interface to Encourage More Cognitive Processing John Patrick 2 , Phillip L. Morgan 1 , Leyanne Tiley 2 , Victoria Smy 2 , and Helen Seeby 2 1 School of Psychology, Early Years, and Therapeutic Studies, University of South Wales, Caerleon Campus, Newport, NP18 3QT, UK phillip.morgan2@southwales.ac.uk 2 School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK {patrickj,tileyl1,smyva,seebyh}@cardiff.ac.uk Abstract. Cognitive engineering aims to provide operators with immediate access to as much relevant information as possible. However, this can encour- age display-based strategies that do not involve committing information to memory. To overcome this problem, a somewhat counterintuitive method is discussed, based upon the theory of soft constraints [1], that involves delaying access to some critical information by one or two seconds. This design tech- nique induces a more planful and memory-based strategy that can improve re- call, develop more planning behavior, improve problem solving, and protect against the negative effects of interruption. Furthermore, we provide some pre- liminary results that this more memory-intensive strategy can be trained through past experience with high access cost and then used in situations where access cost is minimal. This was the case when only half of the training trials involved a higher access cost. Further research is needed to ascertain how long training effects last and what are the ideal training regimes for different types of task. Keywords: Soft constraints, information access cost, strategy, memory, plan- ning, problem solving, interruption, transfer. 1 Rationale for Increasing Access Cost Interface design involves optimising interactions between human operators and the systems with which they work. Given increased technology, operators of complex systems can become deluged with information that they do not deeply process and adopt what is known as a 'display-based strategy', using the display as a form of ex- ternal memory [1-3]. The unfortunate consequence is that critical information may not be processed deeply and subsequent performance may be impaired [3]. A novel, ex- citing, and counterintuitive solution, based upon both theory and empirical evidence, involves inserting a couple of seconds delay when operators attempt to access impor- tant information. Paying this small extra time cost induces a deeper cognitive process- ing strategy, involving more memory and planning, which improves performance in