Perceiving press photography: a new integrative model, combining iconology with psychophysiological and eye-tracking methods

Any analysis of how mass-mediated visuals are perceived and interpreted in multimodal contexts should be informed by a scientific understanding of the biological constraints on visual processing, as well as a solid culturally aware visual communication approach. This article focuses on the interdisciplinary combination of three methods - iconology, a qualitative method of visual analysis targeted at the meanings of visuals and based in the humanities, and eye-tracking and psychophysiological reaction measurement, both based in experimental psychology. The authors propose a Visual Communication Process Model as an integrative means for connecting different facets of the communication processes involved in visual mass communication. The goal of this new model is to widen and sharpen the focus on explaining (a) meaning-attribution processes, (b) visual perception and attention processes, and (c) psychophysiological reactions to mass-mediated visuals, illustrated in this article with examples of press photography.