Reading Information Graphics: The Role of Spatial Contiguity and Dual Attentional Guidance (original) (raw)
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Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2020
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Applied Cognitive Psychology
In multimedia stimuli (e.g., comics), the reader must follow a narrative in which text and image both contribute information, and artists may use more irregular layouts which must still be followed correctly. While previous work has found that the external structure (outlines) of panels is a major contributor to navigation decisions in comics, other studies have shown that panel content can affect reading order. The present studies use eye‐tracking to investigate these contributions further. In Experiment 1, the reading behaviors on six layout variations were compared. The influence of the external structure was replicated, but an effect of text location was also found for one layout type. Experiment 2 focused on variations of this particular layout, manipulating the location of text within critical panels. Panel content was a consistent effect for all variations. While most navigation decisions are made using the external structure, content becomes key when resolving ambiguous layo...
Information Visualization, 2017
The basic premise of this research is investigating the effect of layout on the comprehension and cognitive load of the viewers in the information graphics. The term ‘Layout’ refers to the arrangement and organization of the visual and textual elements in a graphical design. The experiment conducted in this study is designed based on two stories and each one of these stories is presented with two different layouts. During the experiment, eye-tracking devices are applied to collect the gaze data including the eye movement data and pupil diameter fluctuation. In the research on the modification of the layouts, contents of each story are narrated using identical visual and textual elements. The analysis of eye-tracking data provides quantitative evidence concerning the change of layout in each story and its effect on the comprehension of participants and variation of their cognitive load. In conclusion, it can be claimed that the comprehension from the zigzag form of the layout was hig...
Reading and Writing
Research on comprehension of written text and reading processes suggests a greater use of reading processes is associated with higher scores on comprehension measures of those same texts. Although researchers have suggested that the graphics in text convey important meaning, little research exists on the relationship between children’s processes prompted by the graphics in informational text and their overall comprehension of the same texts. In this study, 30 second-graders read 2 informational texts, were prompted to share their thinking whenever they looked at a graphic, retold each text in their own words, and answered 8 comprehension questions about each text. Correlations between students’ scores on the post-reading comprehension measures and the reading processes prompted by the graphics suggested that: (1) the number of times any process was prompted by the graphics was significantly correlated with scores on the retelling measure for one book, but not for the retelling measure of the other book or for the comprehension question measure for either book; (2) there were no significant correlations between the number of different processes prompted by the graphics and students’ scores on any comprehension measure; (3) a number of individual processes were positively correlated with retelling and/or comprehension question scores.
Reading and Writing, 2015
Printed or digital textbooks contain texts accompanied by various kinds of visualisation. Successful comprehension of these materials requires integrating verbal and graphical information. This study investigates the time course of processing an illustrated text through eye-tracking methodology in the school context. The aims were to identify patterns of first-and second-pass reading and to examine whether the integrative processing of text and picture during the less automatic and more purposeful second-pass reading predicts learning, after controlling for reading comprehension, prior knowledge, and self-concept. Forty-three 7th graders read an illustrated science text while their eye movements were recorded. A cluster analysis revealed two processing patterns during the first-pass reading, which differed for the time spent on the main concepts in the text and picture. During re-reading, two patterns of stronger and weaker integrative processing emerged. Integration of verbal and graphical information was revealed by the frequency of second-pass transitions from text to picture and from picture to text, and the duration of picture re-inspecting while re-reading text information (lookfrom text to picture) and re-reading text information while re-inspecting the visualised information (look-from picture to text). A series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that only the patterns of integrative processing during the second-pass reading uniquely predict verbal and graphical recalls, and the transfer of knowledge. The study A1 The study is part of a research project on learning difficulties in the science domain funded by a grant to A2 the first author (STPD08HANE_001) from the University of Padua, Italy, under the funding program for A3 ''Strategic Projects''. We are very grateful to all the students, their parents and teachers, and the school A4 principal, who made this study possible.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 2018
The present research presents a novel method for investigating how characteristics of texts (words, sentences and passages) and individuals (verbal and general cognitive skills) jointly influence eyemovement patterns over the time-course of reading, as well as comprehension accuracy. Fifty-one proficient readers read passages of varying complexity from the Gray Oral Reading Test, while their eye-movements were recorded. Participants also completed a large battery of tests assessing various components of reading comprehension ability (vocabulary size, decoding, phonological awareness, and experience with print), as well as general cognitive and executive skills. We used the Random Forests non-parametric regression technique to simultaneously estimate relative importance of all predictors. This method enabled us to trace the temporal engagement of individual predictors and entire predictor groups on eye-movements during reading, while avoiding the problems of model overfitting and collinearity, typical of parametric regression methods. Our findings both confirmed well-established results of prior research and pointed to a space of hypotheses that is as yet unexplored. Keywords random forests; eye movements; reading; individual differences Eye-movements during passage reading are susceptible to at least three sources of variability, stemming from i) the cognitive and linguistic ability of the reader him/herself; ii) linguistic properties of the text itself; and iii) the dynamic requirements of the reading task itself. While the first two have been well studied in the literature, they are typically not examined jointly (but see Rayner, 1998, 2009 and the literature review below). The third, which requires the coordinated uptake of perceptual information (i.e., identification of lines and circles that constitute symbols) as well as the timely integration of various levels of information in the process of creating a coherent meaning representation, has only recently received direct attention (e.g., Goswami, 2011) but this work has not focused on eyemovements as a gateway for information uptake. These three sources-labeled here as Reader, Text, and Time-are known to interact (see the literature review below), and thus
Computers & Education, 2013
This study used eye-tracking methodology in the school setting to examine fourth graders' online processing of text and graphics while reading an illustrated science text. We were interested in identifying patterns of visual behavior, which was examined considering individual differences in reading comprehension, prior knowledge, and spatial ability. We also investigated the outcomes of learning from text by measuring free recall, factual knowledge, and transfer of knowledge. For an important advancement of research in this area, the link between processing and learning was also examined. Forty-nine 4th graders participated in a pretest, immediate, and delayed posttest design. Results of a cluster analysis using indices of firstand second-pass eye-fixation, as well as integrative saccades revealed three patterns of visual behavior varying for the level of integration of text and picture. Significant associations between eye-tracking data and reading comprehension and prior knowledge emerged. Moreover, the three patterns of visual behavior were significantly related to students' performances in the various learning tasks at both testing times. The greater integrative processing of the illustrated text was associated with higher learning performances. The significance of the study for educational implications is outlined.