1. (Please see the Speaker Notes below for the researcher’s comments.)
Comics as a Cognitive Training
Medium for Expert Decision Making
Amber Nalu James P. Bliss
Old Dominion University
2. Problem Statement
• Training is necessary for expert decision
making in critical conditions
• Military populations need alternatives to
current training media to meet diverse
trainees’ needs
• The military needs more efficient training
materials
• Comics should be used as an alternative
media for expert decision making training
3. Decision Theory
• Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM)
– No single correct solution
– Does not incorporate probabilities or alternative
choices into the decision making process
– Refers to intuitive rather than analytical processes
– Recognition-Primed Decision (RPD) model
(Ross et al., 2004)
(Klein, 2008)
4. The Power of Comics
• Image schemas:
– Mental structures formed by the combination of
environmental spatial structures and innate
tendencies
– Humans of all age, culture, race have image
schemas
– Allow for communication to diverse populations
• E.g. Military
(Mandler, 1992)
5. Recycled Symbol Connection
• Humans attach experiences to symbols to image
schemas
• Ex. Symbol
PATH and LINK
• Image schemas help to understand the symbol
that expresses the experience
• Recycled symbol (Jung, 1939)
6. Universal Language
• Comics use symbols, based on image schemas,
to create a universal language
• Symbols can express tangible objects and
intangible ideas
– i.e. Pain, fear, power, time
• The universal language is beneficial to diverse
populations for communication and training
7. Research Overview
Image Symbols Comics Training
Schemas
(Mandler, 1992) (Jung, 1939) (McCloud, 1993) (Eisner, 1968)
8. Research Questions
• Experiment 1
– Is there a significant difference between decision
making response scores for comics and text-based
media training?
• Experiment 2
– Is there a significant difference between decision
making response scores for the level of comic
symbolic abstraction?
9. Experiment 1
• Text-based medium vs. comic strip
• Hypothesis
– Sensorimotor contingencies and image schemas
connect with symbols in comics and reduce time
needed to view and understand comics more than
text-based media
(Noe & O’Regan, 2002)
• Goals (Mandler, 1992)
– Speed and feasibility of decision making response
scores are higher with comics than text-based media
training
10. Experiment 1 Method
• Design
– Independent variables = 2 levels, training media
– Dependent variables = speed and feasibility
• Task Overview
– Submarine scenarios (text versus comics)
• Participants
– 40 submarine officers
• Materials
– Online study / in person
• Procedure
– Alternate Collection Method
• Website for online study participation
11. Experiment 1 Results
• T-tests
– Decision making skills (Accuracy)
• Not significant
t(38) = .83, p=.21
– Speed
• Not significant
t(38) = .98, p=.17
– View time
t(38) = 7.05, p<.01
• View Time was significant
12. Experiment 1 Discussion
• Significant View Time
– Utilized pattern matching (Klein, 2008) and cue
identification (Klein, 1997)
• Overall: Equivalent training benefit achievable
in less time!
13. Experiment 2 Reasoning
• Experiment 2 will follow to:
– Identify whether unexpected results in
Experiment 1 are due to imagery or textual issue
• Practical examination:
– Determine if a professional comic artist is needed
• Theoretical examination:
– Image detail necessary to trigger cognitive image
schemas
14. Experiment 2
• Experiment 2 Hypothesis
– Participants’ performance after viewing the lower
level of symbol abstraction within comics would be
superior to the higher abstraction comics because
easily recognized symbols by utilizing image schemas
support communication between comic media and
readers (McCloud, 1993)
(Eisner, 1985)
• Experiment 2 Goals (Mandler, 1992)
– To test the impact that symbols have on cognitive
training, level of symbolic abstraction manipulated
across three separate comic strips
15. Experiment 2 Method
• Design
– Independent variable = level of symbolic abstraction
– Dependent variables = speed and feasibility
• Participants
– 51 submarine officers
• Materials
– Online study / in person
• Procedure
– Read media, answer decision questions
– Alternate Collection Method
18. General Discussion
• Experiments 1 & 2
– Theoretical thread = image schemas (Mandler,
1992)
• Information must be connected with long term
memory and previous knowledge
• Value of Comics for the Military
– Shortened training time
– Twice as much time for real-world situations
– Alternative media for diverse population and
trainee needs
19. Future Research
• Reduce time to view media
– Benefits of comics more readily shown
– Significant speed results of current study
Thank you for being here today.Today I will present our research titled, “Comics as a Cognitive Training Medium for Expert Decision Making”
We began our research by considering military issues, specifically, training. Training is necessary for expert decision making in critical conditions. These are situations that military members face.Military populations need training alternatives and more efficient materials to meet their diverse trainees’ needs.This is where comics were considered as an alternative media for expert decision making training.
In Naturalistic Decision Making, or NDM, there is no single correct solution.NDM is more generalizable to military decision making than other theories, such as those based on probabilities, because NDM incorporates many critical elements (e.g., uncertainty, time constraints) where decisions are more intuitive rather than analytical.A part of NDM is the recognition primed decision model, or RPD – with this pattern matching model, experts utilize cues, expectancies, goals, and reactions within situational patterns to elicit new decisions.Example – when a commander is on a battle field and must determine how to best get his men out of the battle zone safely. In this example, the commander would utilize the cues on the battle field and match these cues with other knowledge and experience patterns.The question remains, though, how do comics tie in with the military?
Comics tie in with the military through image schemas.Image schemas are mental structures formed by environmental spatial structures and innate tendencies.All humans have image schemas.Because all humans utilize image schemas, this allows for communication to diverse populations such as the military.
Here we will detail how image schemas are recycled.The image schemas, path and link are shown in the center of the image.With the PATH image schema, you you know the yo you will go back up.With the LINK image schema,– you know the fingers are attached and the yoyo is attached by the string.Humans attach their experiences, such as throwing a yoyo, with symbols, such as the one shown, with image schemas.Image schemas help us understand the symbol that expresses the experience.This ‘conscious’ experience with ‘unconscious’ mental processing is an endless symbol formation cycle called the transcendent function (Jung, 1939)
Image schemas are utilized throughout our understanding of symbols, and comics use symbols to create a universal language.Symbols can express tangible and intangible objects such as pain, fear, power and time.Most importantly though, the universal language is beneficial to diverse populations such as the military for communication and training.
This is an overview of the research and how each piece is connected.Image schemas are started within, and reinforced through the environmentUp and down arrow shows how the yoyo movesWhich utilizestwo image schemas:PATH – you know the yoyo will go back upLINK – you know the fingers are attached and the yoyo is attached by the stringOverall: Image schemas help us to understand the symbols used in comics for training.
So, for the study’s experiment 1, the research question was whether there was a significant difference between participant scores for comics and textAnd in experiment 2, the research question was whether there was a significant difference between participant scores for symbolic abstraction levels in comicsWe will begin by discussing experiment 1.
Through a variety of perceptual and cognitive research, the potential for cognitive training of expert decision making using comics has been supported.Given the elements of Sensorimotor Contingency Theory and image schemas, it was expected that training decision makers with comics would result in quicker, more accurate, and better quality decisions because perceived comic symbols are mentally connected to present and anticipated experiential knowledge formed by sensorimotor contingencies (Noe & O’Regan, 2002). Thus, participants should not have to spend as much time or effort to interpret symbols within comics as they would to interpret text-based media.
Exp. 1 Design alpha of .1 was chosen due to the novelty of the studyExperiment 1 - IV = type of training media with 2 levels, comic media or text-based media. DVs – speed and feasibility of responses; t-test to analyze dataTask Overview – two separate scenarios developed into comicsParticipants – experiment 1, 40 sub officers (20 per group)Materials – in person or survey onlineProcedure – read comics, answer questionsThe alternate collection method was the online study website for participation . Submarine officers are an expert, highly protected group. Because it is difficult to meet with these participants due to their time, duties, and geographic location constraints, the alternate collection method was used to run all participants.All participants logged onto the website to participate in the study for both Experiments 1 and 2.
Performance, speed, and view time scores were transformed by taking the log of each score to achieve normal curves, as per the significant (p>.10) Shapiro-Wilk W test, and meet t-test assumptions. --One-tailed t-test results did not indicate that participants demonstrated better decision making skills after cognitive training through comic strip media than text-based media, t(38) = .83, p=.21. --Results also did not indicate that participants demonstrated faster speed. --However, the time (seconds) that participants viewed the comic media (M =2.33, SD =.16) was significantly faster than text-based media (M = 2.67, SD =.15) at the .10 alpha level, t(38) = 7.05, p<.01.
By using comics for training, the military would have significantly more time to train their soldiers on other topics, or in real-world situations. Current study results utilized NDM through the use of pattern matching (Klein, 2008) and cue identification (Klein, 1997) between the comics and previously experienced knowledge, thus increasing their view time speed. This study suggests that submarine officers could use comics to train expert decision making without requiring much additional time to train.Overall, equivalent training benefits are achievable in less time!!!!!!!!
The next step for research is to assess the impact that different image detail levels have for decision making training. In Experiment 2, comic imagery detail was manipulated by presenting participants with different levels of symbolic abstraction.Practically, level of abstraction is important because if good training can result from highly abstract comics, then even novice artists, such as soldiers or commanders without comic art training, can effectively use the comics method. On the other hand, if comic imagery must be precise to be effective, this limits the practicality of the comics method. Theoretically, it is interesting because the question is one of generalization; it is an examination of how exact the images must be to trigger cognitive image schemas.
For experiment 2, the hypothesis was that decision making response scores would be higher with low levels of abstraction, or higher fidelity of symbolic imagery because symbols utilize image schemas, which support communication between the reader and the comic mediaThe experiment 2 goals were to test the impact that symbols have on cognitive training. To do this, we manipulated the level of symbolic abstraction across three separate comics strips that were based on the same scenarios.
Design – Experiment 2, Using the same comic scenario across levels, alpha of .1IV were the level of symbolic abstraction, 3 levels with decreased level of details per symbolDVs were speed and feasibility of participant responses a One-way ANOVA was used to analyze dataParticipants – 51 sub officers were needed, but only 45 were recruited due to recruitment challenges, 17 were in the low abstraction group and14 participants in both the medium and high abstraction groupsMaterials – survey online or in personProcedure – read comics, answer questions Again, the alternate online collection method was used for all participants in both Experiments 1 and 2.
Transformation of scores was the same as Experiment 1 for performance, speed, and view time, though a constant of .625 was added to Experiment 2 performance scores prior to taking the log of each score. Experiment 2 results showed non-significance between levels of symbolic abstraction for accuracy, speed, and view time.
Observed decision making skills and speed did not differ as a function of symbolic abstraction in the comic media.
In Experiment 1, image schemas were the theoretical thread between text and comics (Mandler, 1992). The information, whether viewed through text or images, must be connected with long term memory and previous knowledge in order to understand it. Comics are beneficial because the description of the information through imagery requires less interpretation. The military needs effective and efficient training in the shortest amount of time possible. The current study results show that the cliché, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” is valid. The current study showed that the view time for comics took less than half of the time that participants took to read the text based media in Experiment 1. By using comics for training, the military would have twice as much time to train their soldiers on other topics, or in real-world situations.Overall, comics provide an alternative media for the diverse military population and trainee needs
Perhaps participants were provided too much time to view the media. By viewing simplified information such as comics, cognitive load would be reduced (Mayer & Chandler, 2001) and could facilitate retention of learned information (Moreno, 2007). Because military members are often trained to make quick decisions in complex scenarios, the benefits of comic media might be more readily shown with greater time restrictions. This is especially likely given the significant speed results reported here.
Thank you for your attention. Please note that equivalency testing has been performed and submitted as a separate publication listed on my Linkedin profile. For any other questions, please email me at the gmail address also listed on my Linkedin Profile. Thank you.
