Visual support in easy language The impact of images on comprehension, perceived difficulty and eye movements
González Sordé, Mariona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Traducció i d'Interpretació i d'Estudis de l'Àsia Oriental)
Soler Vilageliu, Olga (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Psicologia Bàsica, Evolutiva i de l'Educació)
Krejtz, Krzysztof (SWPS University (Polònia))
Krejtz, Izabela (SWPS University (Polònia))

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Easy Language (EL) presents information in a simplified way and benefits people who have difficulty understanding standard language. The present study evaluates the effects of visual support inclusion, as it is a recurring recommendation in EL guidelines. We examined 52 adults (23 men and 29 women; mean age of 39. 9; 26 with intellectual disabilities [ID], 26 neurotypical) in a mixed design study. They read EL texts that presented either no visual support, photographs or illustrations. Their eye movements were recorded, and they answered comprehension, text difficulty and style preference questions. The inclusion of visual support had no effect on comprehension, nor did the type of visual support (photographs/illustrations). The group (ID/neurotypical) and the type of visual support also showed no effects on the perceived difficulty of the text. Neurotypical participants showed a preference for illustrations. Photographs may be more difficult to interpret than illustrations due to longer fixations and shorter saccades in both groups. The group with an ID showed more and longer fixations, especially on text and whitespace, while the neuro- typical group tended to explore the image more. Results prompt a discussion on the potential improvements of EL guidelines and highlight the need for similar empirical studies in the area.
Grants:	European Commission 957252 Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00077
Note:	Altres ajuts: The publication is partially based upon work performed within the COST Action LEAD-ME (CA19142), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre i quan aquestes es distribueixin sota la mateixa llicència que regula l'obra original i es reconegui l'autoria.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Comprehension ; Easy Language ; Eye tracking ; Intellectual disability ; Visual support
Published in:	Language and Cognition, Num. 17 (2025) , p. 1-27, art. e87, ISSN 1866-9859

DOI: 10.1017/langcog.2025.10042

27 p, 1.8 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles