STS-Sequence_Timeline_Study

Amy Rae Fox (2015-2016) MA Masters Thesis

Representing Sequence: The Influence of Timeline Axis and Direction on Causal Reasoning in Litigation Law

• MATERIALS: sts1 Contains stimulus code for a php-based website serving as the experimental stimuli
• DATA: Contains raw data extracts from relational database, as well as 'clean' data exports from SPSS.
• ANALYSIS: Contains SPSS data analysis files.
• PUBLICATIONS: Contains CogSci Conference Paper, Poster, and Masters Thesis

ABSTRACT (COGSCI Paper)

Can the representation of event sequence influence how jurors remember and reason in a legal case? We addressed this question by examining the interaction between an individual's preferred spatial construal of time (SCT) for an external (visual-spatial) representation and the SCT of a courtroom graphic. One hundred fifty three undergraduates played the role of jurors in a fictitious civil trial. The details of a case were recounted in a multimedia presentation featuring timelines animated in one of four orientations: left-right, right-left, top-bottom, and bottom-top. Participants were assessed on measures of comprehension and causal reasoning. Results indicated effects of timeline orientation and SCT choice behavior on comprehension and reasoning. We discuss these results in terms of the role of attention in temporal-causal reasoning, and implications for the design of multimedia materials for the courtroom.

CITATION

Fox, A.R., Van den Berg, M., & De Vries, E. (2016). Representing Sequence: The Influence of Timeline Axis and Direction on Causal Reasoning in Litigation Law. In 38th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Philadelphia, PA, USA. (pp. 450-455).

Fox, A. R. (2015). VISUALIZING TIME: THE INFLUENCE OF TIMELINE AXIS AND DIRECTION ON CAUSAL REASONING IN LITIGATION LAW [MA Thesis]. CSU-Chico.