With What Effect I: Research on Cognitive Effects of Visual Communication

Abstract

Before introducing the multiple contributions and opportunities for research examining cognitive visual effects, it is important to note that the digital age has made it possible for people to see events happen instantaneously. In this age, then, one might expect research to show that people to have a better cognition or grasp of what is going on in the world around them than ever before. For many scholars, however, this expectation has not been fulfilled yet. According to Bartels (1993), “The state of research on media effects is one of the most notable embarrassment of modern social science” (267).