What Does It Mean to Stand Out? How Visual Design and Presentation Affect Attention and Memory in a Warning Message

Details

• Journal Title:
  Weather, Climate, and Society
• Personal Author:
  Waugh, Nicholas ; Sutton, Jeannette ; Fischer, Laura ; Orton, Ginger
• NOAA Program & Office:
  OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; WPO (Weather Program Office)
• Description:
  In emergency communication, it is essential to call attention to key information that can be interpreted quickly and remembered easily. Individuals possess a limited number of cognitive resources to allocate to message processing in an emergency. Because of this, they are more likely to allocate attention to messages they are motivated to care about or to message attributes that stand out. In this study, we focus on how warning messages are attended to when they are viewed in a busy media environment and ask the question: “What does it mean to stand out?” To address the research questions, we used a sequential explanatory design, mixed-methods approach. We employed eye tracking, a memory exercise, and think-aloud interviews to investigate visual attention, memory, and perceptions in response to warnings communicated via Twitter and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) for snow squall (SS) and dust storm (DS) hazards. Our findings revealed insights to assist message designers as they develop warning messages without burdening the message receiver with contents that require additional cognitive load. Colors help to draw attention to key elements and evoke a feeling of risk. Icons also draw attention and can serve as a signal that catches the eye, especially when actively viewed in a busy messaging environment. Additionally, techniques to make key text stand out through bold or the use of ALL CAPS may reduce effortful processing and eliminate the need for conscious fixations while resulting in easily remembered content.
• Source:
  Weather, Climate, and Society, 17(1), 79-99
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-23-0140.1
• ISSN:
  1948-8327 ; 1948-8335
• Format:
  PDF
• Publisher:
  American Meteorological Society
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  Grant no. NA21OAR4590124 ; Grant no. NA21OAR4590124
• Rights Information:
  Other
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fac63b16066f6a0a7c9a741b2f004249da6d32df4306c303ea6e538aaa3f653416636b90f3c7ba4b51ebdc569d7c7069746efe62f344da3fc4c5ceb67d37233a
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/70236/noaa_70236_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.46 MB ]