TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of visual complexity and ambiguity of verbal instructions on target identification
AU - van Marlen, Tim
AU - van Wermeskerken, Margot
AU - van Gog, Tamara
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Research has shown that visual complexity and the ambiguity of verbal information affect the speed and accuracy of locating targets during visual search. The higher the visual complexity and description ambiguity, the slower and poorer the target identification performance. Because these factors are seldom studied in combination (even though they regularly co-occur), it is unclear whether they would interact. Therefore, in two experiments, participants viewed images that displayed cartoon-like characters and had to correctly identify a character from a verbal description under conditions of low/high visual complexity and low/high description ambiguity (manipulated within-subjects). Results revealed that high ambiguity descriptions resulted in lower accuracy and slower response times. However, our manipulation of visual complexity did not affect performance or response times either in itself or in interaction with verbal ambiguity. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications, for instance, for multimedia learning.
AB - Research has shown that visual complexity and the ambiguity of verbal information affect the speed and accuracy of locating targets during visual search. The higher the visual complexity and description ambiguity, the slower and poorer the target identification performance. Because these factors are seldom studied in combination (even though they regularly co-occur), it is unclear whether they would interact. Therefore, in two experiments, participants viewed images that displayed cartoon-like characters and had to correctly identify a character from a verbal description under conditions of low/high visual complexity and low/high description ambiguity (manipulated within-subjects). Results revealed that high ambiguity descriptions resulted in lower accuracy and slower response times. However, our manipulation of visual complexity did not affect performance or response times either in itself or in interaction with verbal ambiguity. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications, for instance, for multimedia learning.
KW - Visual complexity
KW - ambiguity resolution
KW - visual search
KW - visual world paradigm
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057596620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/20445911.2018.1552700
DO - 10.1080/20445911.2018.1552700
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85057596620
SN - 2044-5911
VL - 31
SP - 206
EP - 214
JO - Journal of Cognitive Psychology
JF - Journal of Cognitive Psychology
ER -