Graph Comprehension

Our focus has been building a theoretical basis for graph comprehension. For most of this work, we have used rather simple graphs (line charts, etc.) and tight experimental manipulations. We have also focused on the role of spatial cognition in graph comprehension.

Note that this area is closely related to the cognition of complex visualizations area.

Primary References

Ratwani, R. M., & Trafton, J. G. (2008). Shedding Light on the Graph Schema: Perceptual features vs. invariant structure. Psychonomics Bulletin and Review.  PDF

Ratwani, R. M., Trafton, J. G., & Boehm-Davis, D. A. (2008). Thinking Graphically: Connecting Vision and Cognition during Graph Comprehension. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.  14(1), 36-49.   PDF

Other Relevant References

Trickett, S. B., & Trafton, J. G. (2007). The use of spatial cognition in graph interpretation. In D. S. McNamara & J. G. Trafton (Eds.), Proceedings of the 29th Annual Cognitive Science Society. Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.  PDF

Tricket, S. B. & Trafton, J. G. (2006). Toward a comprehensive model of graph comprehension: Making the case for spatial cognition. (pp. 286-300). In D. Barker-Plummer, R. Cox, & N. Swoboda (Eds.). Diagrammatic Representation and Inference. PDF

Ratwani, R. M., & Trafton, J. G. (2005). Shedding Light on the Graph Schema. The proceedings of the twenty-seventh annual conference of the cognitive science society.  PDF

Tricket, S. B. & Trafton, J. G. (2004). Spatial Transformations in graph comprehension. In A. F. Blackwell, K. Marriott, and A. Shimojima (Eds.). Diagrammatic Representation and Inference.  PDF

Ratwani, R. M., Trafton, J. G., & Boehm-Davis, D. A. (2004). From Specific Information Extraction to Inferences: A Preliminary Framework of Graph Comprehension. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48th Annual Meeting.  PDF

Ratwani, R. M., & Trafton, J. G. (2004). Making Graphical Inferences: A Hierarchical Framework. The proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual conference of the cognitive science society. PDF

Trickett, S. B., & Trafton, J. G. (2004). Use of Spatial Transformations in Graph Comprehension. The proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual conference of the cognitive science society.  PDF

Ratwani, R. M., Trafton, J. G., & Boehm-Davis, D. A. (2003). Thinking Graphically: Extracting local and global information. The proceedings of the twenty-fifth annual conference of the cognitive science society.  PDF

Trafton, J. G., & Trickett, S. B. (2001). A new model of graph and visualization usage (pp. 1048-1053). The proceedings of the twenty-third annual conference of the cognitive science society.  PDF

Contact:
Greg Trafton

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