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Pointing tasks in human–computer interaction obey certain speed–accuracy tradeoff rules. In general, the more accurate the task to be accomplished, the longer it takes and vice versa. Fitts’ law models the speed–accuracy tradeoff effect in pointing as imposed by the task parameters, through Fitts’ index of difficulty (I_d) based on the ratio of the nominal movement distance and the size of the target. Operating with different speed or accuracy biases, performers may utilize more or less area than the target specifies, introducing another subjective layer of speed–accuracy tradeoff relative to the task specification. A conventional approach to overcome the impact of the subjective layer of speed–accuracy tradeoff is to use the a posteriori “effective” pointing precision W_e in lieu of the nominal target width W. Such an approach has lacked a theoretical or empirical foundation. This study investigates the nature and the …