Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images

Despite pictures being static representations, they use various cues to suggest dynamic motion. To investigate the effectiveness of different motion cues in conveying speed in static images, we conducted 3 experiments. In Experiment 1, we compared subjective speed ratings given for motion lines trai...

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Main Authors: Irmak Hacımusaoğlu, Neil Cohn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Cognition
Subjects:
Online Access:https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/404
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author Irmak Hacımusaoğlu
Neil Cohn
author_facet Irmak Hacımusaoğlu
Neil Cohn
author_sort Irmak Hacımusaoğlu
collection DOAJ
description Despite pictures being static representations, they use various cues to suggest dynamic motion. To investigate the effectiveness of different motion cues in conveying speed in static images, we conducted 3 experiments. In Experiment 1, we compared subjective speed ratings given for motion lines trailing behind movers, suppletion lines replacing parts of the movers and backfixing lines set in the background against the baseline of having no extra cue. Experiment 2 was a replication of the first experiment with an addition of several motion lines considering the effect of quantity on conveyed speed. Experiment 3 then examined the actual time assessments of each cue and bare objects indicated for movers to complete their paths. Our results showed that motion cues vary in their effectiveness in depicting speed, with some influence from proficiency in reading manga. Motion lines, which index the path being traversed, remained less effective than suppletion and backfixing lines, which we argue encode the speed component of motion rather than directionality. However, adding more motion lines intensified the perceived speed of the movers. These static cues also influenced the actual time durations individuals indicated for fictitious motion events, in line with the subjective speed ratings. Altogether, our results suggest that different aspects of motion can be captured by different cues, and that the effectiveness of cues might be modulated by exposure to such patterns, in line with the premises of a visual lexicon view.
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spelling doaj-art-8ffb5722cc7740249f6badfe6b744e7e2025-02-11T05:36:33ZengUbiquity PressJournal of Cognition2514-48202025-01-01811110.5334/joc.404403Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static ImagesIrmak Hacımusaoğlu0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0026-3188Neil Cohn1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0074-1995Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Tilburg UniversityDepartment of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences, Tilburg UniversityDespite pictures being static representations, they use various cues to suggest dynamic motion. To investigate the effectiveness of different motion cues in conveying speed in static images, we conducted 3 experiments. In Experiment 1, we compared subjective speed ratings given for motion lines trailing behind movers, suppletion lines replacing parts of the movers and backfixing lines set in the background against the baseline of having no extra cue. Experiment 2 was a replication of the first experiment with an addition of several motion lines considering the effect of quantity on conveyed speed. Experiment 3 then examined the actual time assessments of each cue and bare objects indicated for movers to complete their paths. Our results showed that motion cues vary in their effectiveness in depicting speed, with some influence from proficiency in reading manga. Motion lines, which index the path being traversed, remained less effective than suppletion and backfixing lines, which we argue encode the speed component of motion rather than directionality. However, adding more motion lines intensified the perceived speed of the movers. These static cues also influenced the actual time durations individuals indicated for fictitious motion events, in line with the subjective speed ratings. Altogether, our results suggest that different aspects of motion can be captured by different cues, and that the effectiveness of cues might be modulated by exposure to such patterns, in line with the premises of a visual lexicon view.https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/404visual languagevisual lexiconsubjective speeddepicted motionmotion events
spellingShingle Irmak Hacımusaoğlu
Neil Cohn
Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images
Journal of Cognition
visual language
visual lexicon
subjective speed
depicted motion
motion events
title Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images
title_full Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images
title_fullStr Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images
title_full_unstemmed Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images
title_short Are We Moving Too Fast?: Representation of Speed in Static Images
title_sort are we moving too fast representation of speed in static images
topic visual language
visual lexicon
subjective speed
depicted motion
motion events
url https://account.journalofcognition.org/index.php/up-j-jc/article/view/404
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