Effects of Photographs on the Selective Reading of News Reports

Abstract

Respondents examined an experimental news magazine composed of manipulated and unmanipulated articles about relevant social issues. The manipulated articles either featured no photograph, an innocuous photograph, or a photograph depicting others' impending or manifest victimization. Respondents were free to read whatever they deemed of interest. Time restriction did not allow them, however, to read all available articles in their entirety. Under these selective-exposure conditions, article preferences and reading times were unobtrusively recorded. Additionally, an information-acquisition test was administered after the reading of the magazine. It was found that the text of articles accompanied by photographs, especially by photographs depicting victimization, was read for longer periods of time. Moreover, the acquisition of textual information was markedly facilitated by the presence of photographs depicting victimization.