Abstract
Animating the graphics in electronic documents may increase readers’ willingness to study them but may impair or distort the processes of gist comprehension. Experiment 1 confirmed that, compared with static diagrams, animation increased readers willingness to study a range of graphic genres (maps, time-lines, drawings of unfamiliar objects). Total reading time was also increased but readers’ differential access of static and animated graphics confounded the interpretation of immediate and delayed retention tests. Experiment 2 contrasted the effects of accessing the graphics before or during reading. Scores on a quiz immediately after reading were significantly higher when the graphics were seen before rather than during reading, suggesting that readers found it difficult to integrate the graphics while still building the gist of the text. Scores on both an immediate and a delayed quiz were significantly higher when the graphics were static rather than animated. One pointer to the cause of the decrement with animated graphics was that the quiz performance of readers having animated graphics correlated with their scores on a picture memory test, whereas those of readers with static graphics did not. In contrast the delayed quiz scores of readers with static graphics showed a significant interaction with their performance on a digit memory task. Readers with high scores on digit memory benefited from accessing the graphics while reading, but readers with low scores on the digit test were impaired by such access during reading. This suggests that the cognitive skills needed for integrating text with animated graphics may differ from those needed for dealing with static graphics.
Résumé
Animer les graphiques dans les documents électroniques peut accroître la volonté de les étudier mais peut entraver une bonne compréhension. La première expérience montre que l’animation de diagrammes statiques accroît la motivation des lecteurs dans l’étude de tout un éventail de types de graphiques (cartes, graphiques de temps, dessins d’objets non familiers). Le temps total de lecture augmente aussi mais les différences d’accès des lecteurs aux graphiques statiques et animés rendaient difficile l’interprétation des tests de rétention. Une deuxième expérience a montré que les scores aux questions immédiatement après la lecture étaient significativement plus élevés quand les graphiques étaient vus avant plutôt que durant la lecture, suggérant que les lecteurs trouvaient difficile d’intégrer les graphiques au traitement des discours. Les scores à un questionnaire immédiat et à un questionnaire différé furent significativement plus élevés avec des graphiques statiques qu’avec des graphiques animés. Avec les graphiques animés, on a observé que les performances au questionnaire corrèlent avec les scores des lecteurs à un test de mémoire utilisant le dessin, tandis qu’avec les graphiques statiques on a observé une interaction significative avec les performances des lecteurs à une tâche de mémoire des chiffres. Les lecteurs avec des scores élevés en mémoire de chiffres ont tiré bénéfice d’un accès aux graphiques durant la lecture, mais les lecteurs avec des scores faibles ont été gênés par un tel accès pendant la lecture. Tout ceci suggère que les compétences cognitives nécessaires pour intégrer le texte avec des graphiques animés peuvent différer de celles nécessaires avec des graphiques statiques.
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Wright, P., Milroy, R. & Lickorish, A. Static and animated graphics in learning from interactive texts. Eur J Psychol Educ 14, 203–224 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172966
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03172966