ABSTRACT

Text and illustration are two common communication modalities that are used to facilitate public understanding of new medical technologies. However, little is known about how to effectively use text and illustrations in pairs. The effects of using different types of text and illustrations have not been clearly understood. We conducted three studies to examine the effects of displaying text (non-narrative versus narrative) and illustrations (syntactic versus semantic) as a pair on a number of important outcomes. Study 1 showed that when displayed as a pair in juxtaposition, different pairs of text and illustration did not vary uncertainty or attitudes but varied fear. Study 2 found that when displayed in sequential order, different pairs of text and illustrations caused different levels of risk perceptions but their effects on fear were not different. Study 3 replicated Studies 2 with an increased sample size and found both main and interaction effects of text and illustration types. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

摘要

文字和插图是两种常见的交流方式，用于促进公众对新医疗技术的理解。然而，关于如何有效地成对使用文本和插图，人们知之甚少。使用不同类型的文字和插图的效果还没有被清楚地理解。我们进行了三项研究，以检查将文本（非叙事与叙事）和插图（句法与语义）作为一对显示对许多重要结果的影响。研究 1 表明，当以一对并列显示时，不同的文本和插图对不会改变不确定性或态度，而是会改变恐惧。研究 2 发现，当按顺序显示时，不同的文字和插图对导致不同程度的风险感知，但它们对恐惧的影响并没有不同。研究 3 复制了研究 2，增加了样本量，并发现了文本和插图类型的主要影响和交互影响。讨论了理论和实际意义。