Visual Literacy Series: Learning to Identify Manipulation - Conditioning Factors
Foreword
Visual Literacy Series articles serve as one of the academic courses in this precise field. The main aim of this research is to focus attention on the analysis of the topic of “mass culture”, its visual representations, and the ways it takes action through imagery and its components. The theoretical framework will be covered from a “counter hegemonic” stance and, essentially, the project involves the attempt to create a diagonal discourse that promotes visual literacy through the idea of art as a pedagogical and revolutionary act, since it moves collective subjectivities.
Visual Literacy Series will be mainly divided into the following chapters of content:
Where the necessity begins: examples and contextualisation of control.
Learning to identify manipulation: conditioning factors.
Learning to identify manipulation: conditioning factors
Before addressing the new reading skills demanded by the experimentation of contemporary imagery, three of the characteristics that images possess and that can be exploited are going to be analysed to culminate in the manipulative function that Bretones (1997) or Eco (1995) talked about, and which was also developed in the fourth article of this series, Manipulation through images. This analysis aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how images can influence perception, cognition, and behaviour, emphasising visual literacy's significance in navigating today's society's complex visual landscape.
Once again, Juan Martín Prada theorises in his book El ver y las imágenes en el tiempo de Internet (2018) about the sense in which current visual objects are elaborated, that is, elaborated in terms of the configuration and arrangement of the elements they contain. According to the author, today, individuals are faced with the fact that representations of the visual speak about the event they reproduce rather than about the single view - or successive views, in the case of video - they present. This peculiarity occurs due to the manipulation exercised on the image itself —on it and not through it—, which results in the significance of the visual object being something connoted, apparently hidden behind the retouching, implicit in the representation (Prada 2018).
Figure 1 – Photo manipulation, Md.Mamun
Behind this inclusion of content without actually expressing it, this implicitness lies the different meanings that visual messages can have, which will depend on the intentionality of the creator-emitter (which has been analysed in the previous two sections) and on the perspective with which the receiver assumes them. In the latter case, and as studied based on the notes made by Warren Neidich (Neidich in Brea, 2005), perception is educated and shaped by the information received. Julian Hochberg, an American psychologist specialising in visual perception, talks about this event and explains:
Analyses of specialised sequential behaviours (be they learning maze paths, specialised motor acts such as typing or playing the piano, or language production and perception) always suggest the existence of guiding structures: of expectations, cognitive maps or deep structure. From these cognitive structures, different specific sequences of particular responses can be generated, equivalent to each other by the mere fact that they produce the same final result. [...] all visual perception, or a large part of it, also involves highly specialised intentional sequential behaviours. (Gombrich et al., 1973, p. 60) Thus, insofar as the coding and decoding of visual signs are given by an intentional learning process —by one or the other part of the communicative agents— it is then possible to study the characteristics of these, which mechanisms are used in perception and through which semiological tools the latter is carried out. In this respect, the Gestalt movement is the most important representative of the descriptive studies that have been carried out on perception and its problems. Its focus on holistic perception and the organisation of visual elements provides valuable insights into how we perceive and interpret visual stimuli, shedding light on the intricate interplay between the mind, perception, and the semiotic aspects of visual communication.
Figure 2 – Gestalt’s laws
As defined by Donis A. Dondis, a designer and a teacher of broad experience, in his book A Primer of Visual Literacy (1973), Gestalt psychology has provided valuable research with significant results in visual perception. The aim of its theorists (Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt Koffka, and others) was to organise the field of perception. That is to say, to establish how human beings see or assimilate visual content and how it is organised in the brain. Thus, the Gestalt theory defends that in order to develop his knowledge, the subject uses totalities or gestalten that are made up of simple elements that compose them —of which some will be analysed in this section— and that what the brain perceives are not the parts, but the qualities of the gestalten as a whole. For this reason, this psychological trend establishes a series of laws that explain the relationships between the visual object's elements and give rise to the qualities that make up the actual objects (Dondis, 1973). These elements have distinct characteristics that the usual terms of size, sense, contour, or length cannot define. However, they are constituted as stimuli that set in motion the psychophysical forces that give rise to the perception of things (Dondis, 1973). These semiotic stimuli are the same ones that Warren Neidich referred to in his study when he affirmed that it is through them that the configuration and adjustment of brain development take place at the hands of the hegemonic powers (Neidich in Brea, 2005). In fact, Gestalt theory establishes that what the individual sees depends directly on the characteristics of the organisation of brain fields (Dondis, 1973), also stating that these laws can be learned (which means that, consequently, they can be taught —or imposed— according to the interests of the sender).
It can be argued then that the individual, in the intentional process of learning that is perception, takes "that information susceptible of being grouped in the consciousness to generate a mental representation" (Leonardo Oviedo, 2004, p. 90). Thus, the visual object would cease to be a simple thing and would mutate into a "visual event," as an action that incorporates a reaction (Dondis, 1973). This visual event given by semiotic stimuli is the concept of perception proposed by Gestalt psychology. Therefore, here are some examples of the elements of the image that are presented as semiotic stimuli that can be modified, manipulated, and apprehended.
Simplicity
Simplicity here means visual synthesis, which can be exploited through the direct display of elementary forms, by using temporal simplification, or through repetition. This deliberate emphasis on simplicity aims to enhance accessibility and comprehension, catering to a wide range of viewers with varying cognitive capacities and reducing cognitive load.
Specifics aside, experiencing the stimulus of simplicity gives rise to certain kinds of perceptions, which will depend on the individual in question but can be associated with what is known as "stereotyped perception" (Velasco, 1968). Cándida Velasco, who was a Professor of Philosophy at the Valladolid Teacher Training College, explained in her book Psicología general y evolutiva (1968) what this type of perception consisted of, which she defined as "a mental portrait created prematurely" (p. 269). In other words, the author established that brain processes that exempt interpretation are induced through simplicity and its mechanisms of simplification or repetition. This is done by linking the information received directly with other information previously located in the subject's memory, thus facilitating the immediate assimilation of content. Consequently, it causes atrophy in the development of the processes of perception, as they are not exercised. In fact, when the author spoke of the preconceived ideas with which new information was associated, she was referring precisely to those social stereotypes promoted by "common opinion" (Velasco, 1968: 269), such as, for example, that of the "thieving gipsy," which appears in the film Snatch. In other words, it is through simplicity that the standards of behaviour promoted by mass culture are perpetuated.
Figure 3 – Capture of the movie Snatch (2000)
Unity
Unity, as established here, is defined as the appropriate balance between the elements that make up the totals the individual perceives visually. That is a harmonious assembly of the parts of the gestalten. Thus, it is through it that the image is perceived as a single visual object. This perceptual integration allows for a cohesive and coherent interpretation of the image, enhancing the viewer's overall comprehension and aesthetic experience.
The type of perception that takes place when the unit as a whole is experienced has to do something with the subliminal. Again, Cándida Velasco (1968) clarifies the processes that occur here. The unification of the visual elements causes the viewer's conscious attention to be directed to a specific type of information in the image and not to another, which appears disguised outside the desirable reading established by the visual communicator. Thus, part of the visual object seems not to be experienced at all but is nonetheless digested unconsciously. This conception of the subliminal is reminiscent of Walter Benjamin's conception of "the optical unconscious" (Benjamin, 2008), which he defined as that which we perceive from what we see and assimilate without wanting to because, rationally, we do not know that we know it. So, from this expression, it could be interpreted that, by means of the unity: manipulative actions of content can be undertaken on that which the individual receives and understands because it forms part of the successive glances that he places on the visual object. However, he is not aware of it because that is not where his interest is directed.
This consideration of the implicit, as a manipulative force through unity in the image, is linked to the profusion of discourses whose subjects it would not be correct to deal with explicitly. For example, the profusion of the idea of the "woman-object" is a discourse that has been endlessly reproduced through different mechanisms, such as discursive unity through composition.
Figure 4 – Chez Patou, Helmut Newton (1996)
Obviousness
The definition of obviousness embodies what is evident, and, in addition, it also encompasses a pseudo-attribute interpreted as truth, which was already discussed in the second and third articles of this 101 series: that which is presented as actual, apparent, but which is not. This pseudo-attribute of truth in the guise of obviousness underscores the importance of questioning and critically evaluating seemingly unquestionable information to avoid falling into deceptive interpretations or assumptions.
The perception of obviousness, therefore, is constituted as a mechanism of confirmation. Perceptual processes are directed through it, where the actual elaboration of discourse does not take place, as it is offered ready-made. This allows for immediate assimilation without being subjected to the filter of interpretation, neglecting the cerebral processes involved in perception and ultimately leading to its deterioration. This case is similar to that of simplicity, with the difference that, in that case, the information was linked to contents that had already been assimilated in the brain: perception was stereotyped. However, now the possibility exists that the obvious information transmitted will be totally new, to which new brain spaces will be assigned and which will influence the development of cognitive processes.
In any case, the semiotic stimuli defined here are presented as an example of the activity of visual communication aimed at disseminating visual objects that are desirable, interpretable, and apprehensible —in a targeted manner— for the spectator. In short, techniques and viable paths have been studied in order to incur those visual objects of a manipulative nature that appear in mass culture as truth and, as such, are assimilated by the spectator. In other words, the lie to which the French philosopher of Algerian origin, Jacques Derrida, already referred when he declared in a conference that:
Lying: it is an intentional act. [...] There are no lies, there is that saying or that wanting to say which is called lying: to lie will be to address to another (since one only lies to another, one cannot lie to oneself, except to oneself as another) a statement or more than one statement, a series of statements (constatative or realisative) that the liar knows, in consciousness, in explicit, thematic, actual consciousness, that they constitute totally or partially false assertions. (Derrida, 1995)In other words, lying is the communication of fictitious truths in an intentional manner, just as the processes of encoding and decoding visual symbology are also intentional, resulting in manipulative actions that use semiotics, conditioning factors, or stimuli as tools for execution. These deliberate acts of manipulation through visual communication highlight the intricate relationship between perception, cognition, and persuasion, emphasising the power of symbols and stimuli to influence our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours. Consequently, understanding these intentional manipulations becomes crucial in navigating the complex landscape of visual information and maintaining critical thinking skills in an increasingly visually saturated world.
Bibliographical References
Benjamin, Walter. (2008). The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility. United States: Belknap Press, Harvard University Press. [1st ed. 1936]
Brea, José Luis (Ed.). (2005). Visual Studies: The Epistemology of Visuality in the Age of globalization. Madrid, Spain: AKAL.
Bretones, María Trinidad. (1997). Funciones y efectos de los medios de comunicación de masas: los modelos de análisis. Barcelona, Spain: University of Barcelona.
Derrida, Jacques. (1995). Historia de la mentira: Prolegómenos. Lecture given at Buenos Aires, Argentina: School of Philosophy and Arts of the University of Buenos Aires.
Dondis, Donis A. (1973). A primer of Visual Literacy. United States: The MIT Press Eco, Umberto (1995). Apocalyptics and Integrated. Barcelona, Spain: Tusquets editores. [1st ed. 1964]
Gombrich, E. H.; Hochberg, J. y Black, M. (1973). Art, Perception and Reality. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Leonardo Oviedo, Gilberto. (2004). La definición del concepto de percepción en psicología con base en la Teoría Gestalt. Revista de estudios Sociales, no. 18, pp. 89-96.
Martín Prada, Juan. (2018). El ver y las imágenes en el tiempo de Internet (Estudios visuales). Madrid, Spain: AKAL.
Velasco, Cándida. (1968). Psicología general y evolutiva. Valladolid, Spain: LEX-NOVA.
Visual Sources
Cover Image: Exploring the Gestalt principles of Design. Available on: https://www.toptal.com/designers/ui/gestalt-principles-of-design
Figure 1: Photo manipulation, Md.Mamun. Available on: https://dribbble.com/shots/10374721-Photo-Manipulation
Figure 2: Gestalt’s laws. Available on: https://miro.medium.com/max/2000/0*xAunMZs52Y3AnILg.jpg
Figure 3: Capture of the movie Snatch (2000). Available on: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjIxMjAzMzUwNl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDQ3OTczNQ@@._V1_.jpg
Figure 4: Chez Patou, Helmut Newton (1996). Available on: https://elpais.com/elpais/2015/11/26/album/1448540012_766022.html#foto_gal_3
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