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Digital Pictures, Videos, and Beyond: Knowledge Acquisition with Realistic Images

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The Psychology of Digital Learning

Abstract

While the distinction between pictures and texts is well established on theoretical grounds and has attracted much research, the differences and commonalities between realistic depictions and its real-world counterparts have received much less attention. This chapter aims to contribute to closing this gap by systematically comparing life-like images to real-world events in terms of commonalities and differences in visual appeal as well as in perception and mental processing. Based on the notion of a “dual character” of digital images, both closely resembling reality but simultaneously being systematically different, several issues regarding processes of knowledge acquisition will be discussed, including: Are viewers aware of differences between real-world information and mediated information—and do they take them into account? Do realistic images require specific competencies for comprehension? Should the realism of visual representations be maximized for learning? How do viewers deal with the informational complexity and ambiguity of realistic images?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Schleichstraße 6, Tübingen, 72076, Germany

    Stephan Schwan

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  1. Stephan Schwan
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Correspondence to Stephan Schwan .

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  1. Realistic Depictions, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany

    Stephan Schwan

  2. Knowledge Construction, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany

    Ulrike Cress

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Schwan, S. (2017). Digital Pictures, Videos, and Beyond: Knowledge Acquisition with Realistic Images. In: Schwan, S., Cress, U. (eds) The Psychology of Digital Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49077-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49077-9_3

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