Tell Me Without Telling Me: Two-Way Prediction of Visualization Literacy and Visual Attention

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Chang, Minsuk, Wang, Yao, Wang, Huichen Will, Zhou, Yuanhong, Bulling, Andreas, Bearfield, Cindy Xiong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Chang, Minsuk
Wang, Yao
Wang, Huichen Will
Zhou, Yuanhong
Bulling, Andreas
Bearfield, Cindy Xiong
author_facet Chang, Minsuk
Wang, Yao
Wang, Huichen Will
Zhou, Yuanhong
Bulling, Andreas
Bearfield, Cindy Xiong
contents Accounting for individual differences can improve the effectiveness of visualization design. While the role of visual attention in visualization interpretation is well recognized, existing work often overlooks how this behavior varies based on visual literacy levels. Based on data from a 235-participant user study covering three visualization tests (mini-VLAT, CALVI, and SGL), we show that distinct attention patterns in visual data exploration can correlate with participants' literacy levels: While experts (high-scorers) generally show a strong attentional focus, novices (low-scorers) focus less and explore more. We then propose two computational models leveraging these insights: Lit2Sal -- a novel visual saliency model that predicts observer attention given their visualization literacy level, and Sal2Lit -- a model to predict visual literacy from human visual attention data. Our quantitative and qualitative evaluation demonstrates that Lit2Sal outperforms state-of-the-art saliency models with literacy-aware considerations. Sal2Lit predicts literacy with 86% accuracy using a single attention map, providing a time-efficient supplement to literacy assessment that only takes less than a minute. Taken together, our unique approach to consider individual differences in salience models and visual attention in literacy assessments paves the way for new directions in personalized visual data communication to enhance understanding.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_03713
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Tell Me Without Telling Me: Two-Way Prediction of Visualization Literacy and Visual Attention
Chang, Minsuk
Wang, Yao
Wang, Huichen Will
Zhou, Yuanhong
Bulling, Andreas
Bearfield, Cindy Xiong
Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Accounting for individual differences can improve the effectiveness of visualization design. While the role of visual attention in visualization interpretation is well recognized, existing work often overlooks how this behavior varies based on visual literacy levels. Based on data from a 235-participant user study covering three visualization tests (mini-VLAT, CALVI, and SGL), we show that distinct attention patterns in visual data exploration can correlate with participants' literacy levels: While experts (high-scorers) generally show a strong attentional focus, novices (low-scorers) focus less and explore more. We then propose two computational models leveraging these insights: Lit2Sal -- a novel visual saliency model that predicts observer attention given their visualization literacy level, and Sal2Lit -- a model to predict visual literacy from human visual attention data. Our quantitative and qualitative evaluation demonstrates that Lit2Sal outperforms state-of-the-art saliency models with literacy-aware considerations. Sal2Lit predicts literacy with 86% accuracy using a single attention map, providing a time-efficient supplement to literacy assessment that only takes less than a minute. Taken together, our unique approach to consider individual differences in salience models and visual attention in literacy assessments paves the way for new directions in personalized visual data communication to enhance understanding.
title Tell Me Without Telling Me: Two-Way Prediction of Visualization Literacy and Visual Attention
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03713