An Analysis of the Cognitive Functions of Graphical Representations in Extended Semantic Approach

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The purpose of this research project was to make a contribution to the cognitive study of graphic representations from the standpoint of semantic analysis.One of the main consequences of semantic analysis conducted in this project is that many graphical representations have the so-called "free ride" property, namely, the property of automatically expressing a logical consequence of a set of information in the course of expressing that set of information. This property is predicted to have a strong influence on the process of inferences made with diagrams. In order to verify this prediction, we conducted two experiments in June 1997 and June 1998, measuring the eye-movements of humans who solved logical inference problems with diagrams.As the result, we obtained a strong evidence of the tendency for humans to use the free-ride property of diagrams even when they are not in position to physically manipulate the diagrams. The similar results were obtained when the semantic rules employed by the diagrams do not match the users' semantic preference, and when the premises of the inference cannot be uniquely expressed in the diagram due to its "specificity" property. This suggests that the use of free-ride properties of diagrams is quite a robust, and hence general process in human inference with diagrams.Thus, the prediction made by a semantic analysis of diagrams about human inference processes has been verified in psychological experiments. This seems to point to a new fertile research method in cognitive study of graphical representations.