Common Visualizations: Their Cognitive Utility

Abstract

Visualizations have numerous benefits for problem solving, sense making, decision making, learning, analytical reasoning, and other high-level cognitive activities. Research in cognitive science has demonstrated that visualizations fundamentally influence cognitive processing and the overall performance of such aforementioned activities. However, although researchers often suggest that visualizations support, enhance, and/or amplify cognition, little research has examined the cognitive utility of different visualizations in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Rather, visualization research is often focused only on low-level cognitive and perceptual issues. To design visualizations that effectively support high-level cognitive activities, a strong understanding of the cognitive effects of different visual forms is required. To examine this issue, this chapter draws on research from a number of relevant domains, including information and data visualization, visual analytics, cognitive and perceptual psychology, and diagrammatic reasoning. This chapter identifies and clarifies some important terms and discusses the current state of research and practice. In addition, a number of common visualizations are identified, their cognitive and perceptual influences are examined, and some implications for the performance of high-level cognitive activities are discussed. Readers from various fields in which a human-centered approach to visualization is necessary, such as health informatics, data and information visualization, visual analytics, journalism, education, and human-information interaction, will likely find this chapter a useful reference for research, design, and/or evaluation purposes.