Static and Dynamic Representations of Motion

Can static cues provide information about motion? The present research compared three types of displays that showed the motion of a weather system — two static displays (lines only and lines ending in arrows) and an animated display. In Experiment 1, participants received trials in which all three displays were presented and they selected the static display that best provided the motion information in the animated display. Participants selected the static arrow display on 67% of the trials. In Experiment 2, participants received trials with one display at a time, in which they used the display to answer questions concerning the motion of the weather system. Performance with the arrow (response time and accuracy) was better than with the static line and was comparable to the animated display. These results show that static cues can be interpreted in terms of motion.