Does Isolating a Visual Element Call Attention to It? Results of an Eye-tracking Investigation of the Effects of Isolation on Emphasis

Authors: Williams, Thomas R.; Mulligan, Christopher; Koprowicz, Kent; Miller, Jamie; Reimann, Christy; Wang, Da-Shin

Source: Technical Communication, Volume 52, Number 1, February 2005 , pp. 21-26(6)

Publisher: Society for Technical Communication

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Abstract:

The study reported here assessed the effects of isolation on attention. Is it true, in other words, that isolating an element in a visual display—moving an element away from other elements and surrounding it with white space—will inspire a greater allocation of attentional resources to the isolated element than to other elements on a page or screen?

While demonstrating that under carefully controlled conditions isolation does indeed have an effect on attention, the results of this experiment should be invoked with caution because this study does not suggest how strong the effect of isolation may be, particularly when used in concert with other factors that could compete for the viewer’s attention.

Document Type: Journal article

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