Effects of Stimulus Complexity and Cognitive Style on Spontaneous Interpretations of Line Graphs

Abstract

Thirty adult subjects studied each of eighteen single-function line graphs for self-determined periods. The structural complexity of the stimulus graphs was varied in three ways: through addition of data points, reversal of trends, and elimination of symmetry. Subjects provided written interpretations immediately following examination of each graph. Indirect indices of comprehensibility (i.e., increased graph study times and increased content in the written interpretations) suggested that trend reversals were the primary determinant of complexity. While the number of data points and the presence or absence of symmetry were not associated with longer study times or greater overall content production, varying these structural features did lead to strategic shifts in the interpretive emphasis on global versus local features of the graphically-displayed data. Specifically, the presence of symmetry or the addition of data points led to increases in global content and decreases in local content. Lastly, cognitive style of subjects was systematically related to graphical interpretation. Impulsive subjects were less likely than reflective subjects to interpret local features of the graph, and were also less sensitive to variation in structural characteristics.