A Visual Test for Visual

Four different principles of visual manipulation constitute a minimal list of what a visually "literate" viewer should know about, but certain problems exist which are inherent in measuring viewers' awareness of each of them. The four principles are: (1) paraproxemics, or camera work which derives its effectiveness from an analogy to the real-world domain of spacial communication; (2) false continuity, a basic premise behind most narrative editing which joins two shots together in an illusionistic coherence; (3) implicit propositionality, in which an analogy is implied by juxtaposing two or more images; and (4) associational juxtaposition, a core strategy in advertising in which an image of the product is juxtaposed with an image of a person, object, or situation evoking positive feelings. The major difficulty in measuring these aspects of visual literacy is determining how to tap into these processes without resorting to verbal or written responses. Attempts to succeed must ensure that measurement of visual literacy is not confounded by linguistic competence. One technique features classification, or tasks involving some form of sorting of images, and it is currently being used in a variety of ways to measure these principles. Finally, a procedure has been developed to gauge the extent to which viewers are aware of the uses of associational juxtaposition in magazine advertising. Future research in this area can explore the ways prior experience leads to greater awareness, and to what extent visual literacy makes viewers more resistant to visual manipulation. (BB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** cac, A VISUAL TEST FOR VISUAL "LITERACY"