A picture is worth 1,000 words; but only if it's the right picture and it comes at the right point

But only if it's the right picture and it comes at the right point

The essential goal in choosing depictive displays - illustrations such as photographs, blueprints or schematic diagrams that resemble the things being illustrated (a scene, the design of a building, or the parts of an automobile engine, for example) - is to maximize the relationship between picture and text. If a writer puts 1,000 words that are irrelevant to the topic into a 2,500-word story, an editor should have no problem removing them or demanding a rewrite. Similarly, the sole picture accompanying a 1,500-word column had better add considerable value to the text.

According to an experiment reported in 1972 by psychologists John Bransford and Marcia Johnson, adding pictures improves comprehension and memory. Their experiment has taught us two lessons:

1. Pictures work. Pictures can be useful in helping readers to interpret and remember text. Indeed, in 1982 W. Howard Levie and Richard Lentz surveyed 46 previous experiments comparing text with pictures to text alone and found that 45 - all but one - showed that pictures worked. In one case, a group following directions in illustrated text did an amazing 323 percent better than a group following the same directions but without the illustrations.

2. The picture should come first. For maximal effectiveness, the picture should be examined before the relevant text is read. Of course, magazine readers cannot be forced to look one place on the page before another, but their attention can be controlled in several ways. If there is a single picture on a page, for example, it is a safe bet that readers will examine it before they read the accompanying text. If there are several pictures, it is better to say, "Examine figure 1 and consider the following points" than to say, "The points just discussed are illustrated in figure 1."

Among the surprising benefits of pictures are hypermnesia and persistence. In hypermnesia (the opposite of amnesia), memory of pictures actually improves the more times people try to recall them. Persistence refers to the fact that illustrations last longer and become more salient in memory as time goes on.

One study showed that illustrated text was 9 percent more effective than text alone when comprehension was tested right away, but that it was 83 percent more effective when the test was delayed.

Evocative power

Pictures can also evoke certain emotions better than words. Although words can sometimes produce stronger reactions when abstract issues are discussed, pictures are more effective when appearance is critical. Sometimes abstract concepts can be rendered concrete (and more emotionally compelling, as well) through pictures, as with the famous "man blocking the tanks" image from the Tiananmen Square incident in China. And as marketing experts know, studies show that subjects claim to like and believe illustrated material more than text alone.

However, adding pictures to prose is not a panacea. Levie and Lentz found that while illustrations that were only "vaguely related" to accompanying text yielded 25 percent better scores on later tests of understanding and memory than text alone, truly irrelevant illustrations had a minimal effect (5 percent improvement). Worse yet, a 1987 survey by Joel Levin and his associates found that pictures serving a purely decorative purpose caused subjects to perform worse than subjects who received unadorned text.

In sum, psychological research on pictures and text tens us to keep four key points in mind:

* Pictures improve a reader's comprehension and recall if they are relevant to the content.

* Pictures work best when they are examined before the associated editorial material is read.

* Pictures may have a larger impact on memory as time passes.

* Pictures and words evoke different emotional effects.

The picture/text synergy

Tremendous benefits can be realized when writers, editors, designers and artists work together on an illustrated article, while an artificial and bureaucratic separation between editorial and art departments can interfere with the effective integration of pictures and text. If the relationship becomes adversarial or hierarchical rather than collaborative and interactive, the quality and usefulness of the final product suffers needlessly. So don't let your magazine miss out on the psychological power of the picture/text synergy.

Christopher E. Chabris is a graduate student and Stephen M. Kosslyn, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Kosslyn is the author of Elements of Graph Design, a guide to creating psychologically powerful information graphics.

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