Drawing the Line between Constituent Structure and Coherence Relations in Visual Narratives
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| Title: | Drawing the Line between Constituent Structure and Coherence Relations in Visual Narratives |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Cohn, Neil, Bender, Patrick |
| Source: | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Feb 2017 43(2):289-301. |
| Availability: | American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 13 |
| Publication Date: | 2017 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH) |
| Contract Number: | R01MH071635 HD25889 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Statistical Analysis, Correlation, Cues, Personal Narratives, Cartoons, Grammar, Semantics, Novels, Questionnaires, Regression (Statistics), Predictor Variables, Stimuli |
| Geographic Terms: | Massachusetts |
| DOI: | 10.1037/xlm0000290 |
| ISSN: | 0278-7393 |
| Abstract: | Theories of visual narrative understanding have often focused on the changes in meaning across a sequence, like shifts in characters, spatial location, and causation, as cues for breaks in the structure of a discourse. In contrast, the theory of visual narrative grammar posits that hierarchic "grammatical" structures operate at the discourse level using categorical roles for images, which may or may not co-occur with shifts in coherence. We therefore examined the relationship between narrative structure and coherence shifts in the segmentation of visual narrative sequences using a "segmentation task" where participants drew lines between images in order to divide them into subepisodes. We used regressions to analyze the influence of the expected constituent structure boundary, narrative categories, and semantic coherence relationships on the segmentation of visual narrative sequences. Narrative categories were a stronger predictor of segmentation than linear coherence relationships between panels, though both influenced participants' divisions. Altogether, these results support the theory that meaningful sequential images use a narrative grammar that extends above and beyond linear semantic shifts between discourse units. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 74 |
| Entry Date: | 2017 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1128601 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Theories of visual narrative understanding have often focused on the changes in meaning across a sequence, like shifts in characters, spatial location, and causation, as cues for breaks in the structure of a discourse. In contrast, the theory of visual narrative grammar posits that hierarchic "grammatical" structures operate at the discourse level using categorical roles for images, which may or may not co-occur with shifts in coherence. We therefore examined the relationship between narrative structure and coherence shifts in the segmentation of visual narrative sequences using a "segmentation task" where participants drew lines between images in order to divide them into subepisodes. We used regressions to analyze the influence of the expected constituent structure boundary, narrative categories, and semantic coherence relationships on the segmentation of visual narrative sequences. Narrative categories were a stronger predictor of segmentation than linear coherence relationships between panels, though both influenced participants' divisions. Altogether, these results support the theory that meaningful sequential images use a narrative grammar that extends above and beyond linear semantic shifts between discourse units. |
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| ISSN: | 0278-7393 |
| DOI: | 10.1037/xlm0000290 |
