Faculty of Culture and Information Science, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan.
Cogn Sci. 2013 Mar;37(2):211-54. doi: 10.1111/cogs.12026.
Semantic studies on diagrammatic notations (Barwise & Etchemendy, 1990; Shimojima, 1995; Stenning & Lemon, 2001) have revealed that the "non-deductive," "emergent," or "perceptual" effects of diagrams (Chandrasekaran, Kurup, Banerjee, Josephson, & Winkler, 2004; Kulpa, 2003; Larkin & Simon, 1987; Lindsay, 1988) are all rooted in the exploitation of spatial constraints on graphical structures. Thus, theoretically, this process is a key factor in inference with diagrams, explaining the frequently observed reduction of inferential load. The purpose of this study was to examine the empirical basis for this theoretical suggestion, focusing on the reality of the constraint-exploitation strategy in actual practices of diagrammatic reasoning. Eye movements were recorded while participants used simple position diagrams to solve three- or four-term transitive inference problems. Our experiments revealed that the participants could exploit spatial constraints on graphical structures even when (a) they were not in the position of actually manipulating diagrams, (b) the semantic rule for the provided diagrams did not match their preferences, and (c) the constraint-exploitation strategy invited a partly adverse effect. These findings indicate that the hypothesized process is in fact robust, with the potential to broadly account for the inferential advantage of diagrams.
图式表示法的语义学研究（Barwise & Etchemendy, 1990; Shimojima, 1995; Sten宁和莱蒙, 2001）揭示了图表的“非演绎”、“涌现”或“感知”效应（Chandrasekaran, Kurup, Banerjee, Josephson, & Winkler, 2004; Kulpa, 2003; Larkin & Simon, 1987; Lindsay, 1988）都源于对图形结构的空间约束的利用。因此，从理论上讲，这个过程是图表推理中推理的关键因素，解释了经常观察到的推理负荷减少的现象。本研究的目的是检验这一理论假设的实证基础，重点关注实际图表推理实践中约束利用策略的现实性。在参与者使用简单位置图表解决三或四项传递推理问题时，记录了他们的眼动。我们的实验表明，参与者即使在以下情况下也可以利用图形结构的空间约束：(a) 他们没有实际操纵图表的位置，(b) 提供的图表的语义规则与他们的偏好不匹配，以及 (c) 约束利用策略引起了部分不利影响。这些发现表明，假设的过程实际上是稳健的，有可能广泛解释图表推理的优势。
