We study visual thinking: how it works, and how education + design can make it work better.
Boger, T., Franconeri, S. (2024). Reading a graph is like reading a paragraph. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. [pdf]
Ge, L. W., Easterday, M., Kay, M., Dimara, E., Cheng, P., Franconeri, S. L. (2024). V-FRAMER: Visualization Framework for Mitigating Reasoning Errors in Public Policy. CHI 2024 Preprints. [pdf]
Yuan, L., Novack, M., Uttal, D., Franconeri, S. (2024). Language systematizes attention: How relational language enhances relational representation by guiding attention. Cognition. [pdf]
Ceja, C., Franconeri, S. L. (2023). Difficulty limits of visual mental imagery. Cognition. [pdf]
Moritz, D., Padilla, L. M., Nguyen, F., Franconeri, S. L. (2023). Average Estimates in Line Graphs Are Biased Toward Areas of Higher Variability. arXiv preprint. [pdf]
Yang, F., Cai, M., Mortenson, C., Fakhari, H., Lokmanoglu, A. D., Hullman, J., Franconeri, S., Diakopoulos, N., Nisbet, E., Kay, M. (2023). Swaying the Public? Impacts of Election Forecast Visualizations on Emotion, Trust, and Intention in the 2022 US Midterms. OSF Preprints. [pdf]
Xiong, C., Lee-Robbins, E., Zhang, I., Gaba, A., Franconeri, S. (2022). Reasoning affordances with tables and bar charts. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Xiong, C., Stokes, C., Kim, Y. S., Franconeri, S. (2022). Seeing what you believe or believing what you see? belief biases correlation estimation. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
He., C., Rathbun, Z., Buonauro, D., Meyerhoff, H. S., Franconeri, S. L., Stieff, M., Hegarty, M. (2022. Symmetry and spatial ability enhance change detection in visuospatial structures. Memory & Cognition. [pdf]
He, C., Gunalp, P., Meyerhoff, H. S., Rathbun, Z., Stieff, M., Franconeri, S. L., Hegarty, M. (2022). Visual working memory for connected 3D objects: effects of stimulus complexity, dimensionality and connectivity. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Padilla, L. M., Shah, P., Zacks, J. M., Hullman, J. (2022). The science of visual data communication. Psychological Science in the public interest. [link]
Boger, T., Most, S. B., Franconeri, S. L. (2022). Jurassic mark: Inattentional blindness for a datasaurus reveals that visualizations are explored, not seen. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
McColeman, C. M., Yang, F., Brady, T. F., Franconeri, S. (2022). Rethinking the Ranks of Visual Channels. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Ajani, K., Lee, E., Xiong, C., Knaflic, C. N., Kemper, W., Franconeri, S (2021). Declutter and Focus: Empirically Evaluating Design Guidelines for Effective Data Communication. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Burns, A., Xiong, C., Franconeri, S., Cairo, A., Mahyar, N. (2021). Designing with Pictographs: Envision Topics without Sacrificing Understanding IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Ceja, C. R., McColeman, C. M., Xiong, C., Franconeri, S. L. (2021). Truth or Square: Aspect Ratio Biases Recall of Position Encodings. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Dimara, E., Zhang, H., Tory, M., Franconeri, S. (2021). The Unmet Data Visualization Needs of Decision Makers within Organizations. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L. (2021). Three Perceptual Tools for Seeing and Understanding Visualized Data. Current Directions in Psychological Science. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Padilla, L. M., Shah, P. D., Zacks, J. M., Hullman, J. (2021). The Science of Visual Data Communication: What Works. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. [pdf]
McColeman, C. M., Feng, M., Harrison, L., Franconeri, S. (2021). No Mark is an Island: Precision and Category Repulsion Biases in Data Reproductions. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Ondov, B. D., Yang, F., Kay, M., Elmqvist, N., Franconeri, S. (2021). Revealing Perceptual Proxies with Adversarial Examples IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Bertini, E., Correll, M., Franconeri, S. (2020). Why Shouldn't All Charts Be Scatter Plots? Beyond Precision-Driven Visualizations. 2020 IEEE Visualization Conference (VIS). [pdf]
Burns, A., Xiong, C., Franconeri, S., Cairo, A., Mahyar, N. (2020). How to evaluate data visualizations across different levels of understanding. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Ceja, C. R., Jardine, N. L., Franconeri, S. L. (2020). Foveal gravity: A robust illusion of color-location misbinding. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. [pdf]
Correll, M., Bertini, E., Franconeri, S. (2020). Truncating the Y-Axis: Threat or Menace? Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. [Best Paper Honorable Mention] [pdf]
Dimara, E., Franconeri, S., Plaisant, C., Bezerianos, A., Dragicevic, P. (2020). A Task-based Taxonomy of Cognitive Biases for Information Visualization. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [talk]
Jardine, N., Ondov, B. D., Elmqvist, N., Franconeri, S. (2020). The Perceptual Proxies of Visual Comparison. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [Best Paper Honorable Mention] [pdf] [talk]
Matlen, B. J., Gentner, D., Franconeri, S. L. (2020). Spatial Alignment Facilitates Visual Comparison. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. [pdf]
Meyerhoff, H. S., Jardine, N., Stieff, M., Hegarty, M., Franconeri, S. (2020). Visual ZIP files: Viewers beat capacity limits by compressing redundant features across objects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. [pdf]
Nothelfer, C. & Franconeri, C. (2020). Measures of the Benefit of Direct Encoding of Data Deltas for Data Pair Relation Perception. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [talk]
Stieff, M., Werner, S., DeSutter, D., Franconeri, S., Hegarty, M. (2020). Visual chunking as a strategy for spatial thinking in STEM. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. [pdf]
Xiong, C., Ceja, C. R., Ludwig, C. J. H., Franconeri, S. (2020). Biased Average Position Estimates in Line and Bar Graphs: Understimation, Overestimation, and Perceptual Pull. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [talk]
Xiong, C., Shapiro, J., Hullman, J., Franconeri, S. (2020). Illusion of Causality in Visualized Data. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [talk]
Zacks, J. M., Franconeri, S. L. (2020). Designing Graphs for Decision-Makers. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. [pdf]
Zacks, J., Franconeri, S. (2020). Reading the pandemic data. Science: Editor's Blog. [link]
Dimara, E., Bailly, G., Bezerianos, A., Franconeri, S. (2019). Mitigating the Attraction Effect with Visualizations. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Hearst, M. A., Pedersen, E., Patil, L., Lee, E., Laskowski, P., Franconeri, S. (2019). An Evaluation of Semantically Grouped Word Cloud Designs. IEEE Transactions on Visualizations and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Ondov, B., Jardine, N., Elmqvist, N., Franconeri, S. (2019). Face to Face: Evaluating Visual Comparison. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Xiong, C., van Weelden, L., Franconeri, S. (2019). The Curse of Knowledge in Visual Data Communication. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [talk]
Yang, F., Harrison, L. T., Rensink, R. A., Franconeri, S. L., Chang, R. (2019). Correlation Judgment and Visualization Features: A Comparative Study. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Yu, D., Tam, D., Franconeri, S. L. (2019). Gestalt similarity groupings are not constructed in parallel. Cognition. [pdf]
Yu, D., Xiao, X., Bemis, D. K., Franconeri, S. L. (2019). Similarity Grouping as Feature-Based Selection. Psychological Science. [pdf]
Yuan, L., Haroz, S., Franconeri, S. (2019). Perceptual proxies for extracting averages in data visualizations. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf]
Alexander, E., Chang, C-C., Shimabukuro, M., Franconeri, S., Collins, C., Gleicher, M. (2018). Perceptual Biases in Font Size as a Data Encoding. IEEE Transactions on Visualizations and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Felix, C., Franconeri, S., Bertini, M. (2018). Taking Word Clouds Apart: An Empirical Investigation of the Design Space for Keyword Summaries. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Ferguson, B., Franconeri, S. L., Waxman, S. R. (2018). Very young infants learn abstract rules in the visual modality. PLOS ONE. [pdf]
Wakefield, E., Novack, M. A., Congdon, E. L., Franconeri, S., Goldin-Meadow, S. (2018). Gesture helps learners learn, but not merely by guiding their visual attention. Developmental Science. [pdf]
Lovett, A. Franconeri, S. L. (2017). Topological Relations Between Objects Are Categorically Coded. Psychological Science. [pdf]
Michal, A. L., Franconeri, S. L. (2017). Visual routines are associated with specific graph interpretations. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. [pdf]
Nothelfer, C., Gleicher, M., Franconeri, S. (2017). Redundant Encoding Strenghtens Segmentation and Grouping in Visual Displays of Data. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance. [pdf]
Michal, A. L., Uttal, D., Shah, P., Franconeri, S. L. (2016). Visual routines for extracting magnitude relations. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf]
Yu, D., Levinthal, B., Franconeri, S. L. (2016). Feature-based attention resolves depth ambiguity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf]
Yuan, L., Uttal, D., Franconeri, S. (2016). Are Categorical Spatial Relations Encoded by Shifting Visual Attention between Objects? PLOS ONE. [pdf]
Haroz, S., Kosara, R., Franconeri, S. L. (2015). The Connected Scatterplot for Presenting Paired Time Series. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [Demos]
Haroz, S., Kosara, R., Franconeri, S. L. (2015) ISOTYPE Visualization - Working Memory, Performance, and Engagement with Pictographs. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. [pdf][Demos]
Liverence, B. M. Franconeri, S. L. (2015). Resource Limitations in Visual Cognition. In R. Scott & S. Kosslyn (Eds.), Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. [pdf]
Salvi, C., Bricolo, E., Franconeri, S. L., Kounios, J., Beeman, M. (2015). Sudden insight is associated with shutting out visual inputs. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf]
Scimeca, J. M. Franconeri, S. L. (2015). Selecting and tracking multiple objects. WIREs Cognitive Science. [pdf]
Szafir, D. A., Haroz, S., Gleicher, M., Franconeri, S. (2015). Four types of ensemble coding in data visualizations. Journal of Vision. [pdf]
Wegbreit, E., Franconeri, S., Beeman, M. (2015). Anxious mood narrows attention in feaure space. Cognition & Emotion. [pdf]
Xu, Y., Franconeri S. L. (2015). Capacity for Visual Features in Mental Rotation. Psychological Science. [pdf]
Bebko, G. M., Franconeri, S. L., Ochsner, K. N., Chiao, J. Y. (2014). Attentional Deployment Is Not Necessary for Succesful Emotion Regulation via Cognitive Reappraisal or Expressive Suppression. Emotion. [pdf]
Chevalier, F., Dragicevic, P., Franconeri, S. (2014). The Not-so-Staggering Effect of Staggered Animated Transitions on Visual Tracking. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Harrison, L., Yang, F., Franconeri, S., Chang, R. (2014). Ranking Visualizations of Correlation Using Weber's Law. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf]
Schurgin, M. W., Nelson, J., Iida, S., Ohira, H., Chiao, J. Y., Franconeri, S. L. (2014). Eye movements during emotion recognition in faces. Journal of Vision. [pdf]
Choo, H., Franconeri, S. L. (2013). Enumeration of small collections violates Weber's Law. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L. (2013). The Nature and Status of Visual Resources. Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Psychology. Reisberg, D. (Editor). Oxford University Press. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Alvarez, G. A., Cavanagh, P. (2013). Flexible cognitive resources: competitive content maps for attention and memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. [pdf]
Gleicher, M., Correll, M., Nothelfer, C., Franconeri, S. (2013). Perception of Average Value in Multiclass Scatterplots. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. [pdf] [more info]
Harrison, L., Skau, D., Franconeri, S., Lu, A., Chang, R. (2013). Influencing Visual Judgment through Affective Priming. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. [pdf]
Xu, Y., Suzuki, S., Franconeri, S. L. (2013). Shifting Selection May Control Apparent Motion. Psychological Science. [pdf]
O'Hearn, K., Franconeri, S., Wright, C., Minshew, N., Luna, B. (2012). The Development of Individuation in Autism. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance. [pdf]
Roth, J. C., Franconeri, S. L. (2012). Asymmetric coding of categorical spatial relations in both language and vision. Frontiers in Psychology. [pdf]
Xu, Y., O'Keefe, S., Suzuki, S., Franconeri, S. L. (2012). Visual influence on haptic torque perception. Perception. [pdf]
Choo, H., Levinthal, B. R., Franconeri, S. L. (2012). Average Orientation Is More Accessible Through Object Boundaries Than Surface Features. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance. [pdf] [Demos]
Corell, M., Albers, D., Franconeri, S., Gleicher, M. (2012). Comparing Averages in Time Series Data. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Pylyshyn, Z. W., Scholl, B. J. (2012). A simple proximity heuristic allows tracking of multiple objects through occlusion. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. [pdf] [Demos]
Franconeri, S. L., Scimeca, J. M., Roth, J. C., Helseth, S. A., Kahn, L. E. (2012). Flexible visual processing of spatial relationships. Cognition. [pdf] [Demos]
Xu, Y., Franconeri, S. L. (2012). The Head of the Table: Marking the "Front" of An Object is Tightly Linked with Selection. The Journal of Neuroscience. [pdf] [Demos]
Bebko, G. M., Franconeri, S. L., Ochsner, K. N., Chiao, J. Y. (2011). Look Before You Regulate: Differential Perceptual Strategies Underlying Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal. Emotion. [pdf]
Levinthal B. R., Franconeri S. L. (2011). Common-Fate Grouping as Feature Selection. Psychological Science. [pdf] [Demos]
Choo, H., Franconeri, S. L. (2010). Objects with reduced visibility still contribute to size averaging. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Jonathan, S. V., Scimeca, J. M. (2010). Tracking Multiple Objects Is Limited Only by Object Spacing, Not by Speed, Time, or Capacity. Psychological Science. [pdf] [Demos]
Hollingworth, A., Simons, D. J., Franconeri, S. L. (2010). New objects do not capture attention without a sensory transient. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. [pdf]
Iordanescu, L., Grabowecky, M., Franconeri, S., Theeuwes, J., Suzuki, S. (2010). Characteristic sounds make you look at targets more quickly. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. [pdf]
Parrott S. E., Levinthal B. R., Franconeri S. L. (2010). Complex attentional control settings. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. [pdf]
Brockmole, J. R., Franconeri, S. L. (Eds.) (2009). Binding: A Special Issue of Visual Cognition. New York: Psychology Press. [link]
Brockmole, J. R., Franconeri, S. L. (2009). Introduction to the special issue on Binding. Visual Cognition.
Guzman-Martinez, E., Leung, P., Franconeri, S., Grabowecky, M., Suzuki, S. (2009). Rapid eye-fixation training without eye tracking. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf] [Code Download]
Hollingworth, A., Franconeri, S. L. (2009). Object correspondence across brief occlusion is established on the basis of both spatiotemporal and surface feature cues. Cognition. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Bemis, D. K., Alvarez, G. A. (2009). Number estimation relies on a set of segmented objects. Cognition. [pdf] [Demos]
Franconeri, S. L. (2009). Attention Capture. In Matsumoto, D. (Ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Franconeri, S. L., Lin, J. Y., Pylyshyn, Z. W., Fisher, B., Enns, J. T. (2008). Evidence against a speed limit in multiple object tracking. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. [pdf] [Demos]
Lin, J. Y., Franconeri, S., Enns, J. T. (2008). Objects on a Collision Path With the Observer Demand Attention. Psychological Science. [pdf]
Alvarez, G. A., Franconeri, S. L. (2007). How many objects can you track? Evidence for a resource-limited attentive tracking mechanism. Journal of Vision. [pdf] [New Scientist Article] [Demos]
Franconeri, S. L., Alvarez, G. A., Enns, J. T. (2007). How Many Locations Can Be Selected at Once? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Hollingworth, A., Simons, D. J. (2005). Do New Objects Capture Attention? Psychological Science. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Simons, D. J. (2005). The dynamic events that capture visual attention: A reply to Abrams & Christ (2005). Perception & Psychophysics. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Simons, D. J., Junge, J. A. (2004). Searching for stimulus-driven shifts of attention. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. [pdf]
Franconeri, S. L., Simons, D. J. (2003). Moving and looming stimuli capture attention. Perception & Psychophysics. [pdf]
Simons, D. J., Mitroff, S. R., Franconeri, S. L. (2003). Implicit and explicit representations in scene perception. In M. Peterson & G. Rhodes (Eds.), Perception of Faces, Objects, and Scenes: Analytic and Holistic Processes. [link]
Mitroff, S. R., Simons, D. J., Franconeri, S. L. (2002). The Siren Song of Implicit Change Detection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. [pdf]
Simons, D. J., Franconeri, S. L., Reimer, R. L. (2000). Change blindness in the absence of a visual disruption. Perception. [pdf]