Communicating Scientific Uncertainty: Pictures as Plausibility Cues

• In Event: Visual Displays

Abstract

Learners using the internet for searching scientific topics frequently come across the uncertainty of such information by discovering multiple texts communicating conflicting information. Furthermore such documents usually include pictures to visualize data ore illustrate facts described in the text. Three experiments were conducted to explore and contrast the effects of embedded diagrams and realistic pictures on the processing of conflicting science-related information. The results suggest that both kinds of pictures can serve as cues to assess the plausibility of textual information but with very different results. Whereas diagrams can foster the creation of a strong situation model for texts, realistic pictures seem to be less profitable, which puts a question mark on the usage of realistic pictures in science textbooks.

Authors

• Katja Knuth-Herzig, Goethe University

• Holger Horz, University Frankfurt am Main

• Wolfgang Schnotz, University of Koblenz-Landau