Abstract
Predictions of the patterns likely to appear on a weather map diagram one day later than those shown on a given map were drawn by meteorologists and non-meteorologists. Differences in secondary structures of the predicted patterns with respect to the spacing and alignment of graphic elements were consistent with the existence of fundamental differences in mental representation between the subject groups. Lack of expertise in the subject domain of the diagram was associated with the production of patterns containing meteorologically-arbitrary arrangements of graphic elements. It is suggested that science instruction should include explicit consideration of the higher order structures present in diagrams.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akin, O. (1986).Psychology of architectural design. London: Pion.
Blystone, R.V., & Dettling, B.C. (1990). Visual literacy in science textbooks. In M. Budd Rowe (Ed.),What research says to the science teacher—The process of knowing: National Science Teachers Association.
Chi, M.T.H., Glaser, R., & Farr, M.J. (1988).The nature of expertise. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Constable, H., Campbell, R., & Brown, R. (1988). Sectional drawings from science books: An experimental investigation into pupils' understanding.British Journal of Educational Psychology, 58, 89–102.
Deakin, J.M., & Allard, F. (1991). Skilled memory in expert figure skaters.Memory & Cognition, 19, 709–716.
Egan, D.E., & Schwartz, B.J. (1979). Chunking in recall of symbolic drawings.Memory & Cognition, 7, 149–158.
Hegarty, M., & Just, M.A. (1993). Constructing mental models of machines from text and diagrams.Journal of Memory and Language, 32, 717–742.
Kindfield, A.C.H. (1993). Biology diagrams: Tools to think with.Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3, 1–36.
Lowe, R.K. (1988a). ‘Reading’ scientific diagrams: Characterising components of skilled performance.Research in Science Education, 18, 112–122.
Lowe, R.K. (1988b). Drawing comparisons: School science and professional science.Australian Science Teachers Journal, 33(4), 32–39.
Lowe, R.K. (1989). Search strategies and inference in the exploration of scientific diagrams.Educational Psychology, 9(1), 27–44.
Lowe, R.K. (1993a).Successful instructional diagrams. London: Kogan Page.
Lowe, R.K. (1993b). Constructing a mental representation from an abstract technical diagram.Learning and Instruction, 3(3), 157–179.
Lowe, R.K. (1994, June).Background knowledge and the construction of a situational representation from a diagram. Paper presented at the Construction of Knowledge in Verbal and Pictorial Environments Conference, Helsinki, Finland.
Lowe, R.K. (in press). Selectivity in diagrams: Reading beyond the lines.Educational Psychology.
Schnotz, W., & Kulhavy, R. (in press).Comprehension of graphics. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Willows, D.M. & Houghton, H.A. (Eds.) (1987).The psychology of illustration: Volume 1. Basic research. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Winn, W.D. (1991). Learning from maps and diagrams.Educational Psychology Review, 3, 211–247.
Winn, W.D. (1993). An account of how readers search for information in diagrams.Contemporary Educational Psychology, 18(2), 162–185.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Specializations: mental representation and processing of scientific diagrams, characteristics of explanatory illustrations, drawing and cognition, instructional design.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lowe, R. Diagram prediction and higher order structures in mental representation. Research in Science Education 24, 208–216 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02356346
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02356346