This study aims to explore the influence of the illustrative function of images and explanatory texts on people’s reading behaviors. Images are commonly used in books, and their function goes beyond mere decoration. Images can significantly improve people’s reading comprehension by serving as illustrations. The study utilizes eye-tracking technology to understand how images influence people’s reading processes. Simultaneously, the function of explanatory texts for images is also investigated. An eye tracker records people’s gazing process, and eye-tracking parameters are used to quantify the gazing behavior. During the experiment, the stimuli are divided into three groups. Group one consists of an article with only texts. Group two includes an article with texts and a relevant image. Group three contains an article with texts and an image accompanied by an explanatory section. Each group has three articles on different topics. The subjects read different types of stimuli and answered corresponding questions. All the reading processes were recorded by the eye-tracker. Total fixation duration, fixation counts, and average fixation duration are used to evaluate the influence. The results indicate that when images are present, people allocate more attention from texts to images and tend to seek help from pictures. Images enhance people’s reading capability and reduce cognitive load. However, there is no significant difference between images alone and images accompanied by explanatory sections. The potential reasons for this are discussed. This finding could improve the understanding of images and explanatory texts as illustrations and provide insights into book or article format design.

Wang Yuanzhe, Zheng Zewen. An Eye-tracking Based Study: The Role of Images and Explanatory Texts in Reading Comprehension. International Journal of Frontiers in Sociology (2023), Vol. 5, Issue 10: 154-158. https://doi.org/10.25236/IJFS.2023.051025.

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