In visual memory, size matters
Study shows that the larger an image, the better we remember it

Date:
January 23, 2022
Source:
Bar-Ilan University
Summary:
New research shows that in natural vision, visual memory of images
is affected by the size of the image on the retina. The findings
can have many implications, including on the use of different types
of electronic screens and the quality of information processing
when we rely on large vs. small screens.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Every day we encounter images on the wall, in newspapers, books, and
electronic devices. Some become etched in our memory and some don't. The elements influencing whether we remember one image and not the other
aren't yet known, but researchers have assumed that image size and memory aren't connected to one another, since we usually understand what appears
in an image, whether it is large or small.


==========================================================================
A new study led by Dr. Sharon Gilaie-Dotan, of Bar-Ilan University's
School of Optometry and Vision Science and Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, sought to determine whether
large images are better remembered than small ones during natural daily behavior. Her assumption was based on the fact that large images require
the visual system to utilize greater resources for processing them.

The results of the study, just published in the journal Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, show for the first time that in
natural vision, visual memory of images is affected by the size of the
image on the retina.

These findings can have many implications, including on the use of
different types of electronic screens and the quality of information
processing when we rely on large vs. small screens.

Shaimaa Masarwa and Olga Kreichman, PhD students in Dr. Gilaie-Dotan's
lab, examined what happens to visual memory when participants were asked
to look at pictures without knowing anything about a memory task to
come. Each participant was shown different pictures in different sizes,
each presented to them just once.

One hundred eighty-two subjects participated in seven different
experiments.

Time and time again the researchers found that the large images were
better remembered (1.5 times more) than the small images. This phenomenon
was not dependent on specific stimuli, the order in which the images
appeared, their resolution, or the amount of information they contained.

To understand whether this result was determined by size rather than
amount of detail, the researchers also examined whether large, blurred
images are better etched in memory than clear, small images, where the
large images contained the same details as the small images. To their
surprise, they found that even in this case, the participants remembered
the large, blurry images better than the small, clear images.

They also found that most images were better remembered when they were presented as bigger relative to when they were presented as smaller.

"In areas of the brain that represent the retinal image, more resources
will be directed to processing large images than to processing small
images because the processing is determined by the area of the retina
that the image stimulates," says Dr. Gilaie-Dotan. She points out that additional factors may contribute to remembering large images, such
as different eye movements, and more attention and interest that large
images elicit.

The study was conducted on young adults aged 18-40, ages in which vision
is completely developed but has not yet begun to age. Different ages may
be affected by the size of the stimuli in a different way, since both
age and experience with screens are quite different between young and old.

While the study examined only static images, the findings could have
important implications on the "screen generation," which consumes much
of its information on small electronic devices. "It is possible that
even in dynamic images, such as videos, greater vision resources will
be directed towards processing videos on large vs. small screens and, therefore, videos on the large screen will likely be better remembered,"
says Gilaie-Dotan. In addition many high schools textbooks today are
available in electronic format, and students sometimes study on their smartphones. While the smartphone screen is handy and accessible,
in practice the quality of learning may be better on a larger
screen. Gilaie-Dotan says that much follow-up research will be needed
to understand how widespread the phenomenon is and whether it affects
all processing in all situations, or only in some cases.

special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Bar-Ilan_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Shaimaa Masarwa, Olga Kreichman, Sharon Gilaie-Dotan. Larger
images are
better remembered during naturalistic encoding. Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences, 2022; 119 (4): e2119614119 DOI:
10.1073/ pnas.2119614119 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220121094310.htm

--- up 7 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 13 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)