Abstract
Graphics, graphs, diagrams, and visual representations of information play an integral role in science education and communication settings. The production of such graphics involves hundreds of design decisions, from content and layout to colour and illustration style, and any of these decisions has the potential to influence viewer’s experience and interpretation. While many studies have examined the influence of design on information transfer, comprehension, recall and so on, less attention has been given to affective impacts. In this study, we examined the impact of visual context in a biology life cycle diagram on viewers’ perception of relevance, sense of concern, and others. Results indicated that the presence of a contextual background in the diagram was associated with higher perception of relevance (related to personal experience). Context may also correlate with greater concern, though further research is needed to confirm this.
Highlights
Graphical representations of information, such as instructional diagrams, flowcharts, infographics, and so on are commonplace in our daily environment
Much of this work targets what we will refer to as cognitive outcomes—information transfer, data reading, the development of mental models, recall, and so on. This is perfectly reasonable since science diagrams and graphics are commonly used in educational, research, or other settings where such outcomes are a primary concern
This study aims to extend on our understanding of affective impacts of diagram design by exploring the influence of visual context on non-cognitive outcomes
Summary
Graphical representations of information, such as instructional diagrams, flowcharts, infographics, and so on are commonplace in our daily environment. Much of this work targets what we will refer to as cognitive outcomes—information transfer, data reading, the development of mental models, recall, and so on. This is perfectly reasonable since science diagrams and graphics are commonly used in educational, research, or other settings where such outcomes are a primary concern. Mayer & Moreno, 2002), along with broader frameworks such as Cognitive Load Theory (Cook, 2006) support a reductionist trend in the design of instructional graphics to reduce extraneous details and strive for focused simplicity Research of this nature on seductive details (e.g. Wiley, 2019), naïve realism (e.g. Hegarty, Smallman, & Stull, 2012; Smallman & St John, 2005), and multimedia design (e.g. Mayer & Moreno, 2002), along with broader frameworks such as Cognitive Load Theory (Cook, 2006) support a reductionist trend in the design of instructional graphics to reduce extraneous details and strive for focused simplicity
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