Reports study findings which indicate that certain styles of family communication and mediation methods facilitate comprehension of television more effectively for boys than for girls. Also discusses differential effects of two styles of discipline on each sex. (PS)

Discusses the findings of 13 sequential studies done by Project Zero on children's sensitivity to artistic styles. Research indicated that there is a developmental sequence in artistic perception. Young children could learn to identify artistic styles but often had difficulty connecting the original paintings with small reproductions used in…

Investigates the changes in the nonverbal forms of written language, with specific attention to the art form of graffiti. Provides and analyzes data from a study of collected graffiti. Describes three phases of visible form in the historical development of graffiti. (HB)

Examines four commonalities of media education in the United States. Outlines the four ideological perspectives that in fact guide media education in the United States: celebration, protectionism, cultural criticism, and educated consumerism. Suggests what all of this means for the future of media education in the United States and what will be…

This 535-page document includes more than 60 papers presented at the 20th Annual Conference of the Visual Literacy Association. Topics cover a wide range of visual literacy interests: computer generated graphics, message design, desktop publishing, photography, critical viewing skills, memory enhancement, and the development of visual…

Two studies investigated: (1) the art preference of young children for realistic, stylized, and abstract styles; and (2) the influence that exposure to art has on these style preferences. Analyses revealed that exposure increased preference for the selected painting as well as preference for other paintings in that style. (PCB)

The clustering strategy increased the metaphoric nature of college students' written interpretations for realistic, abstract, and nonobjective paintings. Relaxed attention exercises significantly increased metaphoric interpretations of realistic paintings only. (Author/RM)

Presents a rationale for studying the visual language of film. Reports on three studies that suggest some tentative answers concerning the manipulation of film and some promising approaches to the study of the medium. (RL)

Describes a study of first- and fourth-grade students that explored the relationship between the use of a computer paint program to create visual images and the subsequent verbal expression of these illustrations. Discusses results that compared the use of traditional media with the computer paint program. (Author/LRW)

The study with 34 gifted fifth-grade students found that a concrete sequential approach to developing visual literacy was more effective than an abstract visualization approach. Subjects either received guided visualization or direct instruction on such art concepts as shape, form, line, color, perspective, variety, and unity. (DB)

Examines the influence of novelty of pose and facial expressions on college students determination of a photograph's artistic merit. Moderate novelty of poses and positive facial expressions received the greatest endorsement. However, some deviation occurred between considerations of artistic and photographic merit. (MJP)

A study to explore Filipino farmers' comprehension of pictorial messages on environmental protection found that educational attainment, visual exposure, and knowledge of environmental protection positively influenced visual comprehension. Color did not necessarily improve comprehension. (Contains 24 references.) (JOW)

In some contexts, a photograph may be worth a thousand words. Previous research revealed a dialectical character of photographs: they simultaneously lack determinacy and exhibit an excess of meaning. The purpose of this study was to understand how, under this condition, high school students interpret photographs that were accompanied by different…

In an effort to minimize the harmful effects of violent TV, a yearlong intervention was undertaken with children in Grades 1 through 3 (N = 177). The classroom-based intervention consisted of 31 brief lessons that emphasized the many ways in which television distorts violence. As hypothesized, the intervention resulted in a reduction in children's…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which teachers and students can leverage the power and potential of visuals to encode information and experiences as personalized meanings, and to help people create their own timeless images as ways to understand the world. The foundation is laid for conducting research to test the assertion…