The Effect of Animated Node-Link Displays on Information Recall

The attentional effects of animation on the processing of information from node-link maps and text were explored. The authors randomly assigned college students to receive a static node-link map presentation (n =40), an animated node-link map presentation (n =37), a static text presentation (n =29), or an animated text presentation (n =27). The participants were asked to recall the information 48 hr later. The participants recalled more main-idea information from animated node-link maps than from static maps or animated text. There were no differences with regard to presentation or display format on the recall of microstructural information.