Abstract
Reading digital texts is a common practice in today’s education. Prior studies showed that the coherence of a text can influence text comprehensibility with low degrees of coherence causing attention failures (mind wandering) and, consequently, negatively impacts reading comprehension. In addition, working memory capacity (WMC) and prior knowledge of the subject have been suggested to be related to both reading comprehension and mind wandering. However, results remain controversial as the interaction of these three factors has not yet been explored. 90 participants either studying law or a different subject read either a coherent or incoherent version of the same unfamiliar hypertext about the copyright law. While reading, they reported self-caught mind wandering with task-embedded thought probes. After reading the hypertext, participants were tested on their text comprehension. Supporting prior findings, mind wandering did occur more frequently when participants read difficult rather than easy texts regardless of their undergraduate course. Moreover, this was modulated by WMC in that participants with lower WMC exhibited more frequent mind wandering than high WMC participants solely when reading low coherent texts. In addition, high WMC participants outperformed low WMC participants on all measures of text comprehension. With a low WMC it seems difficult to inhibit irrelevant information and access related information from working memory, especially when text complexity is high. Interestingly, the present results also indicate that prior knowledge benefits later text comprehension despite not affecting reader’s attention. These findings provide insights into processing attention during reading online texts.
Highlights
In today’s education, reading digital texts is a common practice and hypertexts replace traditional linear printed texts in many learning contexts
We investigate if; (i) prior knowledge has an impact on mind wandering and reading comprehension; and if (ii) text difficulty and working memory capacity (WMC) have an impact on mind wandering in a high-level cognitive task such as reading comprehension
We predicted that a larger amount of prior knowledge should be accompanied with less amount of mind wandering and improved reading comprehension compared to less prior knowledge
Summary
In today’s education, reading digital texts is a common practice and hypertexts replace traditional linear printed texts in many learning contexts. Wastlund et al (2005) showed inferior performance when reading from screen compared to when reading a paper presentation of the same text They argued that participants experienced higher cognitive workload when reading from screen and this higher cognitive load requires more cognitive resources and is, physically and mentally more exhausting than reading on paper. Impacts on Attention and Comprehension literature Dillon (1992) concluded, that reading speeds for hypertexts are reduced compared to print media and comprehension accuracy is lower, especially for cognitively demanding reading tasks (Dillon, 1992). It seems that reading hypertext places different demands on the cognitive system and might, affect text comprehension in a different manner
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
