Students’ consideration of source information during the reading of multiple texts and its effect on intertextual conflict resolution

Abstract

This study investigated students’ spontaneous use of source information for the resolution of conflicts between texts. One-hundred fifty-four undergraduate students read two conflicting explanations concerning the relationship between blood type and personality under two conditions: either one explanation with a higher credibility source and the opposite explanation with a lower credibility source or the same two explanations but with the sources interchanged. Afterwards, students wrote their opinions about the controversial issue. In their opinion essays, students were more likely to resolve the conflicts between the two explanations by affirming the one from the higher credible source and/or negating the opposite one from the lower credible source, though source manipulation had a small and partial effect on intertextual conflict resolution compared with the perceived quality of each explanation and prior attitudes. However, students’ attention to source information during reading and their use of the information for justifying their intertextual conflict resolution were limited. These results suggest that undergraduate students are capable of, but not good at, using source information for intertextual conflict resolution.