Promises and Pitfalls: Taking a Closer Look at How Interactive Infographics Affect Learning From News

Authors

  • Esther Greussing Department of Communication, University of Vienna
  • Hajo G. Boomgaarden Department of Communication, University of Vienna

Keywords:

experiment, infographics, interactivity, learning, online news

Abstract

This study investigates how interactive infographics affect individuals’ understanding of news. We conducted a survey experiment (N = 293) to isolate the effects of a clickable graph and a slider graph on memory of the interactive graphical content and the surrounding text-based content, respectively. Moreover, to shed light on the underlying mechanisms linking interactive infographics with individuals’ cognitive responses en route to learning, we test a model with interface assessment, absorption, and elaboration as key mediators of information acquisition. Overall, the findings point to a negative impact of interactive infographics on news consumers’ memory. However, allowing users to interact with information displayed in graphics cannot be expected to uniformly affect the learning process; instead, the impact of interactive visual content depends on how the use of specific interactive modalities initiates both affective and cognitive processes in audiences when reading online news.

Author Biographies

Esther Greussing, Department of Communication, University of Vienna

PhD Candidate at the Department of Communication, University of ViennaPhone: +49-1-73-9212532

Hajo G. Boomgaarden, Department of Communication, University of Vienna

Professor of Methods in the Social Sciences with a focus on Text Analysis at the Department of Communication, University of ViennaPhone: +43-1-4277-499 05

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Published

2021-07-14

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

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