Surface and deep structures in graphics comprehension

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Technology
• Information Visualization

Background:

• Graphic comprehension is key to learning.
• Graphics have both surface (visual) and deep (semantic) structures.
• Both structures influence mental model formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test if graphics' surface and deep structures independently affect mental model construction.
• To investigate how surface and deep structures interact during learning and recall.
• To determine the relative influence of surface versus deep structure on learning outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments presented identical content using graphics with varied surface structures but consistent deep structures.
• Participants learned material and were instructed to recall it from specific perspectives.
• Recall accuracy was measured by completing graphs in different formats.

Main Results:

• Recall accuracy was higher when the recall format matched the learning format (surface structure effect).
• Recall accuracy was superior when participants focused on the deep structure, irrespective of the initial graphic format.
• Deep structure effects were found to override surface structure influences.

Conclusions:

• Both surface and deep structures of graphics influence mental model construction.
• Deep structure plays a more dominant role than surface structure in accurate recall.
• Instructional context can modulate cognitive processing, yielding varied learning effects.