Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 1993

Gestalt Theory and Instructional Design

Patrick Moore University of Arkansas at Little Rock ; Chad Fitz Biotechnical Services

Abstract

Research on the visual presentation of instructions (and other texts) tends to be repetitious, unsystematic, and overly complex. A simpler yet rich approach to analyzing the visual dimension of instructions is Gestalt theory. Gestalt principles of proximity, closure, symmetry, figure-ground segregation, good continuation, and similarity provide a powerful approach to making instructions more inviting and consistent, as well as easier to access, follow, and understand. This article applies six Gestalt principles to a badly designed instruction to show what improvements result when Gestalt theory is considered in instructional design.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1993-04-01
DOI
10.2190/g748-by68-l83t-x02j
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Moore (2004)
    Questioning the Motives of Technical Communication and Rhetoric: Steven Katz's …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Moore (2000)
    Pluralism, Instrumental Discourse, and the Limits of Social Construction
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Markel (1998)
    What students see: Word processing and the perception of visual design
    Computers and Composition

Cites in this index (5)

  1. MOORE (1992)
    Intimidation and Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. MOORE (1992)
    When Politeness is Fatal
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Dragga (1992)
    Evaluating pictorial illustrations
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Gribbons (1992)
    Organization by Design: Some Implications for Structuring Information
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Kent (1987)
    Schema Theory and Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 5 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1007/978-1-4684-1068-6_17
     ↗
  2. 10.1007/978-1-4684-1068-6_19
     ↗
  3. 10.1007/978-1-4684-1068-6_8
     ↗
  4. 10.1037/11496-001
     ↗
  5. 10.1177/108056998905200107
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 52 View in citation network →

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