Are 100 ms Fast Enough? Characterizing Latency Perception Thresholds in Mouse-Based Interaction

The claim that 100 ms system latency is fast enough for an optimal interaction with highly interactive computer systems has been challenged by several studies demonstrating that users are able to perceive latencies well below the 100 ms mark. Although a high amount of daily computer interactions is still characterized by mouse-based interaction, to date only few studies about latency perception thresholds have employed a corresponding interaction paradigm. Therefore, we determined latency perception thresholds in a mouse-based computer interaction task. We also tested whether user characteristics, such as experience with latency in computer interaction and interaction styles, might be related to inter-individual differences in latency perception thresholds, as results of previous studies indicate that there is considerable inter-individual variance in latency perception thresholds. Our results show that latency perception thresholds for a simple mouse-based computer interaction lie in the range of 60 ms and that inter-individual differences in latency perception can be related to user characteristics.