While the written word is usually an exceptionally efficient medium of expression, visual media may offer a superior alternative to prose for the communication of some kinds of information. Writers and editors will be best equipped to choose the appropriate medium if their decisions are informed by an understanding of the differences in information processing demands that their choices impose on their readers. The following article examines the kinds of cognitive challenges verbal and visual media present to readers in their efforts to extract meaning from a message.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
KnowltonJ. Q., On the Definition of Picture, AV Communication Review, 14, pp. 157–183, 1966.
2.
DeanR. S. and KulhavyR. W., Influence of Spatial Organization in Prose Learning, Journal of Educational Psychology, 73:4, pp. 57–64, 1981.
3.
LevieW. H. and LentzR., Effects of Text Illustrations: A Review of Research, Educational Communications and Technology Journal, 30:4, pp. 195–232, 1982.
4.
WinnW., Charts, Graphs, and Diagrams in Educational Materials, in The Psychology of Illustration, Vol. 1, Basic Research, WillowsD. M. and HoughtonH. A. (eds.), Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 152–198, 1987.
5.
LevieW. H., Research on Pictures: A Guide to the Literature, in The Psychology of Illustration, Vol. 1, Basic Research, WillowsD. M. and HoughtonH. A. (eds.), Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 1–50, 1987.
6.
LarkinJ. H. and SimonH. A., Why a Diagram is (Sometimes) Worth Ten Thousand Words, Cognitive Science, 11, pp. 65–99, 1987.
7.
AlesandriniK. K. L., Pictures and Adult Learning, Instructional Science, 13, pp. 63–77, 1984.
8.
SzlichcinskiK. P., Diagrams and Illustrations as Aids to Problem Solving, Instructional Science, 8, pp. 253–274, 1979.
9.
WinnW. D., Encoding and Retrieval of Information in Maps and Diagrams, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 33:3, pp. 103–107, 1990.
10.
SternbergR. J., Intelligence Applied, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, 1986.
11.
MillerG. A., The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information, Psychological Review, 63, pp. 81–97, 1956.
12.
BartramD. J., Comprehending Spatial Information: The Relative Efficiency of Different Methods of Presenting Information About Bus Routes, Journal of Applied Psychology, 65:1, pp. 103–110, 1980.
13.
SchorrF., The Effects of Varying Procedural Instructions on Comprehension, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (68th, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 23–27, 1984) ED 243 078.
14.
HayesD. A. and HenkW. A., Understanding and Remembering Complex Prose Augmented by Analogic and Pictorial Illustration, Journal of Reading Behavior, 18:1, pp. 63–77, 1986.
15.
BiegerG. R. and GlockM. D., The Information Content of Picture-Text Instructions, Journal of Experimental Education, 53:2, pp. 68–76, 1984–85.
16.
BooherH. R., Relative Comprehensibility of Pictorial Information and Printed Words in Proceduralized Instructions, Human Factors, 17:3, pp. 266–277, 1975.
17.
StoneD. E. and GlockM. D., How Do Young Adults Read Directions With and Without Pictures, Journal of Educational Psychology, 73:3, pp. 427–436, 1981.
18.
DeanR. S. and EnemohP. A., Pictorial Organization in Prose Learning, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 20–27, 1983.
19.
AusubelD. P., The Use of Advance Organizers in the Learning and Retention of Meaningful Verbal Material, Journal of Educational Psychology, 51, pp. 267–272, 1960.
20.
LoftusG. R.NelsonW. W., and KallmanH. J., Differential Acquisition Rates for Different Types of Information from Pictures, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 35A, pp. 187–198, 1983.
21.
O'DonnellH., The Use of Illustrations in Textbooks, The Reading Teacher, 37, pp. 462–464, 1983.
22.
DwyerF. M., A Guide to Improving Visualized Instruction, State College, Pennsylvania State University, Learning Services Division, University Park, Pennsylvania, 1972.
23.
DixonD. and SaltzE., The Role of Imagery on Concept Acquisition in Lower-SES Children, Child Development, 48, pp. 288–291, 1977.
24.
HigbeeK. L., Your Memory: How it Works and How to Improve it, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1977.
25.
StandingL., Learning 10,000 Pictures, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 25, pp. 207–222, 1973.
26.
ErdelyiM. H. and SteinJ. B., Recognition Hypermnesia: The Growth of Recognition Memory (d') over Time and with Repeated Testing, Cognition, 9, pp. 23–33, 1981.
27.
WinnW. D., The Role of Graphics in Training Documents: Toward an Explanatory Theory of How They Communicate, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 32:4, pp. 300–309, 1989.
28.
MolitorS.BallstaedtS., and MandlH., Problems in Knowledge Acquisition from Text and Pictures, in Knowledge Acquisition from Text and Pictures, MandlH. and LevinJ. R. (eds.), North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 3–35, 1989.
29.
FriedmanA., Framing Pictures: The Role of Knowledge in Automatized Encoding and Memory Gist, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 108, pp. 316–355, 1979.
30.
WhaleyP. C. and FlemingR. W., An Experiment with a Simple Recorder of Reading Behavior, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology, 12, pp. 120–123, 1975.
31.
WilliamsThomas R. and FarkasDavid K.Minimalism Reconsidered: Should We Design Documentation for Exploratory Learning?SIGCHI Bulletin, 24:2, 1992.
32.
WilliamsThomas R. and ButterfieldEarl C., Advance Organizers: A Review of the Research—Part I. The Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 22:3, 1992.
33.
WilliamsThomas R. and ButterfieldEarl C., Effects of Advances Organizers and Reader's Purpose on the Level of Ideas Acquired from Expository Text—Part II, The Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 22:3, 1992.
34.
WilliamsThomas R. and SpyridakisJan, Visual Discriminability of Headings in Text, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 35:2, 1992.
35.
WilliamsThomas R.Graphic Design: Message or Decoration?, Conference Record of the International Professional Communication Conference, IEEE Professional Communication Society, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1992.