CMN 345 FInal

What is the visual narrative theory?

Explains how we make sense of visual stories

What are visual narratives?

Collection of discrete frames that progress from one frame to the next

What are the components of visual narratives?

• Characters= agents of action 

• Place= both the specific, visible environment, and the historical context  

• Plot=the story  

• Narrator= tell the story (or frame the story) 

What is the narrative transportation theory and how does it happen?

• Explains the degree to which a person becomes immersed in a story 

• When you feel personally involved in the story  

Why does the narrative transportation theory matter?

• Helps us feel engaged with the message  

• Experience products or outcomes through telepresence  

• We drop critical defenses and are more likely to think positively about message  

What is telepresence?

Occurs when a person feels transported to the mediated environment created by technology (computers/ tv) 

What does telepresence need?

• Implied motion (snapshots) 

• The character 

• Background as context 

What is an exemplar?

Example of a larger group or phenomenon (an example)

How are exemplars persuasive?

• Command attention 

• Aid message processing/ understanding 

• Elicit emotion 

heuristics of exemplars and explain them

Quantification, Representativeness, Availability, Affect

• Quantification  

• Comparing it to all the other exemplars we’ve seen or heard before 

• Nurse (girl wearing blue scrubs) 

• Representativeness 

• Compare new exemplar to model exemplar to determine how alike or representative it is of that group/event/phenonmenon 

• Availability  

• Influenced by the availability of exemplars in our mind 

• More available= more they influence us 

• Recency of exposure  

• Frequency of exposure  

• Affect 

• Strong emotional reactions to exemplars influence our beliefs/behaviors  

• Most powerful heuristic  

What is the exemplification theory and what does it do?

• Explains how exemplars affect our understanding of larger phenomena 

• Influence how we think about an issue/person 

What are base rates?

Statistical information that can be numeric or vague statements about quantity

What is important in psychology of color

• Consistency between the object and color

• Experience

• Culture 

Why is psychology of color hard t study?

• Consistency of color  

• Consistency of number of colors  

• Standardization of conditions 

What is a hue?

Basic color

What is saturation?

Intensity/purity

What is lightness

Brightness

High resource demand (text in one chunk)?

More effective in B&W

Low resource demand (text broken up)?

More effective in color

What do full color images depend on?

• Audience motivation 

• Amount of resources required to process the message  

Color highlighted images?

• Relevant= an object highly relevant to message claim 

• Irrelevant= an object of low relevance to message claim  

• Almost always persuasive 

Elaboration likelihood model?

Little effort<----elaboration--->lots of effort 

Peripheral route/Central

Central route?

• Think about message arguments  

• Ponder implications 

• Relate info to knowledge and values  

Peripheral route?

• Use heuristics (mental shortcuts) to evaluate: 

• Credibility 

• Likeability 

• Consensus 

Under low motivation?

• People will use mental shortcuts 

• Color will act as a mental shortcut 

Under high motivation?

Color can complement claim OR color can consume resources  

What is color priming?

• When color communicates specific information 

• BUT the meaning is determined by situation, context, culture 

What is red primes?

Threat of failure, blood/injury/infection, caution/stop, intimacy/love/attraction 

What is gray primes?

Nothing, used as a control

Direct claim?

State intended meaning

Advantages of direct claims?

Audience can understand the message with little elaboration 

Indirect claims?

Elicit beliefs for which no explicit statement have been made 

Indirect claim advantages?

• Syntactic implications 

• Audience generated claim on their own 

• Increases recall of messages  

• Reduces arguing against/critiquing the message  

What is implicature?

• The number of interpretations a metaphor has 

• Strong= few interpetations 

• Weak= multiple interpretations 

Advantages of weak implicature?

• Generally positive 

• Less likely to distract from message  

• Reduces counterarguing  

• Does not require high motivation  

What is a visual metaphor?

Heinz ketchup cut like a tomato 

Easier to understand than verbal metaphors  

What is a concrete metaphor?

• Can experience through 1 of the 5 senses 

• Easier to understand than abstract metaphors 

What is an abstract metaphor?

• Anything that is not concrete 

• Ideas, concepts, adjectives, etc 

What is message sensation value?

Audio and visual elements that create a novel, fast-paced, and intense viewing environment 

What are the dimensions of message sensation value?

• Visual 

• Content 

• Audio 

Why does message sensation value matter?

It helps message creators make message that appeal to high sensation seekers 

What is sensation seeking

The need for varied, novel, and complex sensation and experiences and the willingness to take risks for such experiences 

What does sensation seeking do?

• Appraise situations as less risky  

• Expect less anxiety in risky situations 

• May quit things that are not simulating  

What is visual complexity?

No agreed upon definition but split into featured complexitiy and design complexity

What is featured complexity?

• Amount of detail and variation in basic visual features  

• Size of JPEG image 

Why does featured complexity matter?

it influences our attention to visuals

What complexity makes people pay more attention?

• Simple, clutter-free= ppl pay less attention 

• More visual complexity= increases attention because it slows viewer down  

What is design complexity?

• Structured variation in shapes, objects, and arrangements 

• Quantity  

• Irregularity 

• Similarity 

• Detail  

• Asymmetry 

• Irregularity of arrangement