Davis, D. 1991

Davis, Dan. 1991. "The use of pictures in literacy materials: An investigation into the processing of visual information in preliterate societies." Notes on Literacy. Interest level: specialist.

Discusses the different mental processes used in processing illustrations and text, as well as different cultural uses of and responses to illustrations.

Refers to the writing of Stuart Cooney, who believes words and pictures belong together only when "the total message is central, rather than that the printed word is central, aided by illustrations." View is in contrast to the traditional attitude toward pictures as aids.

Disagrees with Gudschinsky's list of purposes of pictures in primers. Outlines four levels of perceptual difficulty, proceeding from simple to complex illustrations drawn by a local artist, to simple to complex illustrations drawn by an artist from outside the culture.

States that every literacy worker should avoid illustrations by artists outside the culture, and presents well-developed rationale and research to support view.

• Bibliography module: Davis, D. 1991
• In overview module: Bibliography (Literacy): D
• In modular book: Bibliography (Literacy), by Doris Gallemore, Trudi C. Hunt, Jeanne Swanson, and Stephen L. Walter
• In document collection: Reference materials
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 May 1999

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