Human Cognition and Data Journalism

Abstract

Data journalism storytelling has become an important aspect of journalism during the twenty-first century. This cross-disciplinary research draws the attention of data journalism stakeholders to the mental operations (conscious choices and nonconscious mental processing) of a person who experiences storytelling with data. It is argued that data journalists can learn from the availability heuristic, the cognitive bias, and other concepts of cognitive science in an effort to become more attentive to the mental meFchanisms of their audience. Research from other disciplines, such as law (guilt determination) and economics, suggests that taking nonconscious decision-making seriously would be very productive for the field. Evidence suggests that a better understanding of the human brain's decision-making as well as of cognitive control may provide important insights for the data storytellers. This study is undertaken with an initial focus on the reasons why the audience acts upon emotional stories rather than data and statistics. We begin by arguing that data collection methods, measurement, and quantification may not be the only ‘obscure’ and difficult part to control for a data journalist, but after the cleaning, the analysis, and the visualization, the workings of the brain of the receptor, play a crucial role on what the individual will decide to do. The acts of journalism do not enter a tabula rasa, but rather a terra incognita. The research also examines the role of the language use by the data journalist; and whether language can overshadow data and consequently influence the reader’s perception on the information from an article. The study uses theories from various disciplines (communication, psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science) and gathers data by the use of qualitative research through interviews with cognitive scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists.