Comics as a Cognitive Training Medium for Expert Decision Making

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine how effective comics are when used as a cognitive training medium for expert military decision making. Concepts utilized in comics, such as image schemas, are presented in relation to trainees’ reliance on a universal human language. U.S. Navy submarine officers, ranks O-1 to O-4, participated in two studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of comics relative to traditional text based training (Experiment 1) and the relative effectiveness of low, medium, and high-abstract comics (Experiment 2). Results for Experiments 1 and 2 did not show better decision making skills or speed after cognitive training using a comic medium than after using a text-based medium or with levels of symbolic abstraction within comic presentations. In Experiment 1, the time (seconds) that participants viewed the comic media was significantly faster than text-based media. With significant view time results in Experiment 1, participants were twice as fast when viewing comics as reading text. This result could lead to reduced training time, optimizing manpower, and cost savings for the military. Future studies are needed to further assess the use of comics in training in terms of performance to better understand the implications of the reduced training time such as cost savings potential.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Cohen

(1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159.

Eisner

(1985). Comics and Sequential Art: Principles & Practice of the World’s Most Popular Art Form. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press.

Headquarters Department of the Army. (2008). Training for Full Spectrum Operations. (Field Manual No. 7-0). Retrieved March 28, 2009, from Army Knowledge Online: www.us.army.mil

Klein

(1997). An Overview of Naturalistic Decision Making Applications. In Zsambok

Klein

(Eds.). Naturalistic Decision Making (pp. 49-59). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Klein

(2008). Naturalistic Decision Making. Human Factors, 50(3), 456-460.

Knox

(2004). From Archetypes to Reflective Function. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 49, 1-19.

Mandler

(1992). How to Build a Baby: II. Conceptual Primitives. Psychological Review, 99(4), 587-604.

Mayer

Chandler

(2001). When Learning Is Just a Click Away: Does Simple User Interaction Foster Deeper Understanding of Multimedia Messages? Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 390-397.

McCloud

(1993). Understanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

10.

Moreno

(2007). Optimising Learning from Animations by Minimising Cognitive Load: Cognitive and Affective Consequences of Signalling and Segmentation Methods. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 765–781.

11.

Noe

O’Regan

(2002). On the Brain-Basis of Visual Consciousness: A Sensorimotor Account. In Vision and Mind. By Noe

Thompson

12.

Orasanu

Connolly

(1995). The Reinvention of Decision Making. In Klein

Orasanu

Calderwood

Zsambok

(Eds.), Decision Making in Action: Models and Methods, (pp. 3-20). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

13.

Osborne

Jason

(2002). Notes on the use of data transformations. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 8(6). Retrieved February 16, 2011 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=8&n=6

14.

Sontag

Drew

(1998). Blind Man’s Bluff. New York: Public Affairs.

15.

Van Den Bosch

De Beer

(2003). Play a Winning Game: An Implementation of Critical Thinking Training. In Hoffman

(Ed.). Expertise Out of Context: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Naturalistic Decision Making (pp. 177-198). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.