Cover not available

Article published In: Information Visualization
Edited by Marian Dörk and Isabel Meirelles
[Information Design Journal 25:1] 2019
► pp. 71–86

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF

Feeling numbers

The emotional impact of proximity techniques in visualization

 | MIT
 | Northeastern University
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 16 March 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.25.1.06cam
Abstract
For means of communication, persuasion is a natural and critical part of conveying a message. Data visualizations, being means of communication themselves, are used as rhetorical instruments, but how they persuade has yet to be fully understood. Based on George Campbell’s rhetorical theory, this paper presents the results of an empirical study testing the effectiveness of appeals to emotion through proximity techniques – the contextual framing of a visualization. The findings indicate that people feel greater interest towards a topic when the visualized data are more relevant to them, and that data representing events closer in time are more affecting.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Rhetoric in design and visualization
      • 2.1.1Data storytelling
      • 2.1.2Persuasive cartography
    • 2.2Visualization and rhetoric: Points of discomfort
      • 2.2.1Bias and deception
      • 2.2.2Visual embellishments
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Case study selection
    • 3.2Methods
      • 3.2.1Measurements
      • 3.2.2Chart design
      • 3.2.3Treatments
    • 3.3Procedure
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Demographics and involvement
    • 4.2Attitudes and changes
    • 4.3Emotion
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (50)
References
Aristotle, Roberts, W. R., Bywater, I., & Solmsen, F. (1954). Rhetoric. New York: Modern Library.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bateman, S., Mandryk, R. L., Gutwin, C., Genest, A., McDine, D., & Brooks, C. (2010). Useful junk?: The effects of visual embellishment on comprehension and memorability of charts. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 2573–2582). New York, NY, USA: ACM. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind: Collected essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Booth, W. C. (1963). The rhetorical stance. College Composition and Communication, 14(3), 139–145. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Borgo, R., Abdul-Rahman, A., Mohamed, F., Grant, P. W., Reppa, I., Floridi, L., & Chen, M. (2012). An empirical study on using visual embellishments in visualization. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 18(12), 2759–2768. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Borkin, M. A., Bylinskii, Z., Kim, N. W., Bainbridge, C. M., Yeh, C. S., Borkin, D., … Oliva, A. (2016). Beyond memorability: Visualization recognition and recall. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 22(1), 519–528. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Borkin, M. A., Vo, A. A., Bylinskii, Z., Isola, P., Sunkavalli, S., Oliva, A., & Pfister, H. (2013). What makes a visualization memorable? IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 19(12), 2306–2315. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boy, J., Pandey, A. V., Emerson, J., Satterthwaite, M., Nov, O., & Bertini, E. (2017). Showing people behind data: Does anthropomorphizing visualizations elicit more empathy for human rights data? In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 5462–5474). New York, NY, USA: ACM. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Buchanan, R. (1985). Declaration by design: Rhetoric, argument, and demonstration in design practice. Design Issues, 2(1), 4–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Campbell, G. (1776). The philosophy of rhetoric. (vol. 11). London: W. Strahan. Retrieved from [URL]
Dörk, M., Feng, P., Collins, C., & Carpendale, S. (2013). Critical InfoVis: Exploring the politics of visualization. In CHI ’13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 2189–2198). New York, NY, USA: ACM. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologist, 49(8), 709–724. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Funk, C., & Goo, S. K. (2015). A look at what the public knows and does not know about science (p. 40). Pew Research Center.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haushofer, K. (1928). Die suggestive Karte. In K. Haushofer, E. Obst, H. Lautensach, & O. Maull (Eds.), Bausteine zur Geopolitik (pp. 343–348). Leipzig: Kurt Vowinckel Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harley, J. B. (1991). Can there be a cartographic ethics? Cartographic Perspectives, (10), 9–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haroz, S., Kosara, R., & Franconeri, S. L. (2015). ISOTYPE visualization: Working memory, performance, and engagement with pictographs. In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1191–1200). New York, NY, USA: ACM. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hoeken, H. (2001). Anecdotal, statistical, and causal evidence: Their perceived and actual persuasiveness. Argumentation, 15(4), 425–437. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Holmes, N. (1984). Designer’s guide to creating charts and diagrams (2nd ed.). New York: Watson-Guptill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huff, D. (1954). How to lie with statistics. New York: Norton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hullman, J., & Diakopoulos, N. (2011). Visualization rhetoric: framing effects in narrative visualization. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 17(12), 2231–2240. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnson, B. T., & Eagly, A. H. (1989). Effects of involvement on persuasion: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 106(2), 290–314. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jones, G. E. (2011). How to lie with charts. LaPuerta Books and Media.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kogut, T., & Ritov, I. (2005). The singularity effect of identified victims in separate and joint evaluations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 106–116. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kostelnick, C. (2016). The re-emergence of emotional appeals in interactive data visualization. Technical Communication, 63(2), 116–135.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, S., Kim, S.-H., & Kwon, B. C. (2017). VLAT: Development of a visualization literacy assessment test. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 23(1), 551–560. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, S., Winterich, K. P., & Ross Jr., W. T. (2014). I’m moral, but I won’t help you: The distinct roles of empathy and justice in donations. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(3), 678–696. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lumley, T., Diehr, P., Emerson, S., & Chen, L. (2002). The importance of the normality assumption in large public health data sets. Annual Review of Public Health, 23(1), 151–169. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Monmonier, M. S. (1996). How to lie with maps. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Muehlenhaus, I. (2010). Lost in visualization: Using quantitative content analysis to identify, measure, and categorize political cartographic manipulations (Ph.D.). University of Minnesota, United States, Minnesota. Retrieved from [URL]
(2012). If looks could kill: The impact of different rhetorical styles on persuasive geocommunication. The Cartographic Journal, 491, 361–375. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). The design and composition of persuasive maps. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 40(5), 401–414. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Offenhuber, D. (2010). Visual anecdote. Leonardo, 43(4), 367–374. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pandey, A., Manivannan, A., Nov, O., Satterthwaite, M. L., & Bertini, E. (2014). The persuasive power of data visualization. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 20(12), 2211–2220. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pandey, A., Rall, K., Satterthwaite, M. L., Nov, O., & Bertini, E. (2015). How deceptive are deceptive visualizations? An empirical analysis of common distortion techniques. In Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1469–1478). New York, NY, USA: ACM. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Riche, N. H., Hurter, C., Diakopoulos, N., & Carpendale, S. (Eds.). (2018). Data-driven atorytelling. Boca Raton, Florida: A K Peters/CRC Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Scherer, K. R. (2001). Emotions, psychological structure of. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (pp. 4472–4477). Oxford: Pergamon. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2005). What are emotions? And how can they be measured? Social Science Information, 44(4), 695–729. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segel, E., & Heer, J. (2010). Narrative visualization: Telling stories with data. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 16(6), 1139–1148. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shelter Animals Count. The National Database Project (2017). Retrieved from [URL]
Slovic, P. (2007). “If I look at the mass I will never act”: Psychic numbing and genocide. Judgment and Decision Making, 2(2), 79–95.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Small, D. A., Loewenstein, G., & Slovic, P. (2007). Sympathy and callousness: The impact of deliberative thought on donations to identifiable and statistical victims. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 102(2), 143–153. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tactical Technology Collective (2014). Visualising Information for Advocacy (2nd ed.). Retrieved from [URL]
Thudt, A., Perin, C., Willett, W., & Carpendale, S. (2017). Subjectivity in Personal storytelling with visualization. Information Design Journal, 23(1): 48–64. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tufte, E. R. (1983). The visual display of quantitative information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tyner, J. A. (1982). Persuasive cartography. Journal of Geography, 811, 140–144. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vande Moere, A., Tomitsch, M., Wimmer, C., Christoph, B., & Grechenig, T. (2012). evaluating the effect of style in information visualization. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 18(12), 2739–2748. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Västfjäll, D., Slovic, P., Mayorga, M., & Peters, E. (2014). Compassion fade: Affect and charity are greatest for a single child in need. PLoS ONE, 9(6). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Viegas, F. B., & Wattenberg, M. (2007). Artistic data visualization: Beyond visual analytics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, (4564), 182–191. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Watzlawick, P., Bavelas, J. B., & Jackson, D. D. (1967). Pragmatics of human communication. W. W. Norton & Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wood, D. (1991). How maps work. Cartographica, 29(3/4), 66–74.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (12)

Cited by 12 other publications

Koesten, Laura, Antonia Saske, Sandra Maria Starchenko & Kathleen Gregory
2025. Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Puerta, Eduardo, Shani Claire Spivak & Michael Correll
2025. Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Garretón, Manuela, Francesca Morini, Pablo Celhay, Marian Dörk & Denis Parra
2024. Attitudinal Effects of Data Visualizations and Illustrations in Data Stories. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 30:7 ► pp. 4039 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Angie, Rocita Rana, Alexander Boltz, Veena Dubal & Min Kyung Lee
2024. Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems , ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Alieva, Iuliia
2023. How American Media Framed 2016 Presidential Election Using Data Visualization: The Case Study of the New York Times and the Washington Post. Journalism Practice 17:4 ► pp. 814 ff. DOI logo
Verma, Arnav, Luiz Morais, Pierre Dragicevic & Fanny Chevalier
2023. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Lee-Robbins, Elsie & Eytan Adar
2022. Affective Learning Objectives for Communicative Visualizations. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Sundar, S. Shyam, Haiyan Jia, Saraswathi Bellur, Jeeyun Oh & Hyang-Sook Kim
2022. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Boot, Arnout B., Katinka Dijkstra & Rolf A. Zwaan
2021. The processing and evaluation of news content on social media is influenced by peer-user commentary. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8:1 DOI logo
Ehmel, F., V. Brüggemann & M. Dörk
2021. Topography of Violence: Considerations for Ethical and Collaborative Visualization Design. Computer Graphics Forum 40:3 ► pp. 13 ff. DOI logo
Morais, Luiz, Yvonne Jansen, Nazareno Andrade & Pierre Dragicevic
2021. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Oh, Jeeyun & Angel Hsing-Chi Hwang
2021. Interactive Data Visualization Enhances Preventive Intentions in COVID-19 News Stories: The Mediating Role of Fear and the Moderating Role of Political Orientation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 65:4 ► pp. 479 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue