On Studying Text Comprehension Strategy Using the “Counter-Text” Method: Case-Study on Humanities and Engineering Students

Abstract

The paper presents one of the possible approaches to investigating mental processes underlying text comprehension. The methodological basis of the research, whose results are described in the paper, is the “counter-text” method proposed by N.I. Zhinkin and further developed by his successor A.I. Novikov. The method has been accepted as an effective tool for the analysis of text perception and comprehension processes which cannot be observed directly. The method is supposed to enable explication of the hidden mechanisms of text comprehension and, consequently, identification and verbalization of the “dominants” which exist in the minds of individuals in the moment of reading the text. A.A. Ukhtomsky defines the dominant as the nerve-centers integration for achieving a selected goal and therefore it is considered to be the basis for attention, substantive thinking and arbitrary action. The “dominants” formed as a result of a person’s previous experience and his/her background influence both the comprehension process and meaning formation. It is suggested that these dominants are reflected in the associations emerging in the mind of text readers. A psycholinguistic experiment undertaken with a view to identifying differences in comprehension strategies specific to humanities and engineering students and briefly described in the paper gives the idea of how the “counter-text” method can be applied for such purpose. The comparative analysis of the “counter texts” which were produced by the students of humanities and technical specialties allows us to suggest that there exists a certain “professional” dominant common to all subjects of the same profile. Keywords“Counter-text” methodText comprehensionDominantPsycholinguistic experimentComprehension strategies