Text processing of domain-related information for individuals with high and low domain knowledge

Abstract

This paper is concerned with how previously acquired knowledge affects the processing of new domain-related information. Text processing was studied in two groups differing in knowledge of a particular domain (baseball). A knowledge structure for the domain was constructed, and the text propositions were classified in terms of the knowledge structure. After hearing the text of a half-inning account of a fictitious baseball game, subjects summarized its contents. A completion test followed. Analyses indicated quantitative and qualitative differences in recall for high- and low-knowledge individuals. The results were explained primarily in terms of the greater ability of high-knowledge individuals to relate the actions of the game to the goal structure and to maintain the most important information in a working memory system. Application of the Kintsch and van Dijk ( Psychological Review , 1978, 85 , 363–394) model supported this interpretation and suggested the operation of a complex working memory mechanism which processes both macrostructure and microstructure information. Such a mechanism, it was concluded, is difficult to explain in terms of a typical limited-capacity, working memory buffer. Instead, the results suggest the possible existence of two interacting working memory systems, each of which is concerned with the one type of information, or the operation of a more traditional working memory system combined with an “active” list of macrostructure information that is maintained in long-term memory.