Animated cladograms: Interpreting evolution from diagrams

Abstract

Misconceptions of evolution are well-documented and may be attributed to features of its diagrammatic representations. For example, embodied space, the tendency to structure experiences through narrative, and base perceptual processes interact in people's interpretation of cladograms, a diagram used to reason about species' evolutionary relationships. Clinical interviews with students indicate an effect of animation on the interpretation of the depicted narrative of evolution. Implications are in the design of diagrams for teaching evolution. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.