NOT ALL IMAGERY IS CREATED EQUAL: THE ROLE OF IMAGERY IN THE COMPREHENSION OF MAIN IDEAS IN EXPOSITION

Abstract

Recent work suggests that main idea comprehension can be facilitated by the development and use of mental imagery, but the use of an "imagery strategy" has not been shown to assist comprehension in all situations. The range of research results on imagery and comprehension may be attributable to a failure to make a distinction between the types of imagery that subjects report while reading. It may be the case that unwarranted or non-constrained imagery inhibits rather than facilitates comprehension. The study reported in this paper is designed to test this assertion by examining the relationship between reported imagery and the comprehension of main ideas in exposition. Thirty-three students in grades 2 through 5 read 9 expository passages adapted from science and social science texts at three points during the school year: fall, winter, and spring. Subjects answered main-idea and guided-imagery probes after reading the passages. Protocols were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results indicate that constrained imagery is positively associated with the comprehension of main ideas and follows a similar pattern of growth. Nonconstrained imagery was associated with comprehension failure and their patterns of growth were found to be different. Analysis of the protocols provided a further explanation of the quantitative findings, and revealed that imagery and comprehension were related to the nature of subjects' background knowledge. Imagery was not found to be a precondition for comprehension.