Book contents
- Seeing Matters
- The Progressive Psychology Book Series
- Seeing Matters
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I The Image and What We Do with It
- Part II The Social Life of Images
- Chapter 4 The Birth of the Image
- Chapter 5 The Body of the Image
- Chapter 6 The Environment of the Image
- Chapter 7 The Viewing of the Image
- Chapter 8 The Development of the Image
- Chapter 9 The Death and Afterlife of the Image
- Chapter 10 Concluding Thoughts
- Appendix
- References
- Index
Chapter 10 - Concluding Thoughts
The Mattering of the Image
from Part II - The Social Life of Images
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2026
Book contents
- Seeing Matters
- The Progressive Psychology Book Series
- Seeing Matters
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I The Image and What We Do with It
- Part II The Social Life of Images
- Chapter 4 The Birth of the Image
- Chapter 5 The Body of the Image
- Chapter 6 The Environment of the Image
- Chapter 7 The Viewing of the Image
- Chapter 8 The Development of the Image
- Chapter 9 The Death and Afterlife of the Image
- Chapter 10 Concluding Thoughts
- Appendix
- References
- Index
Summary
The final chapter ends the book with a discussion about when do images still matter despite their abundance and why images have an ambivalent relationship with reality. Can we distinguish between images that reflect reality, manipulate reality, or help us imagine an alternative reality? Can we talk of a ‘good’ image, a powerful one that lives on, and invites dialogue? Can we talk of a ‘just’ image? We want images that do us justice, whether it is for our personal memories or grieving, or for our collective identity and society.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Seeing MattersA Psychology of the Image and Its Politics, pp. 212 - 234Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AAA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter
complies with version 2.2 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range
of users and attains the highest
(AAA)
level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive
accessibility guidelines.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
Visualised data also available as non-graphical data
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.