Abstract
Previous research (e.g., McNamara, Kintsch, Songer, & Kintsch, 1996) has demonstrated that high-knowledge readers learn more from low-coherence than high-coherence texts. This study further examined the assumption that this advantage is due to the use of knowledge to fill in the gaps in the text, resulting in an integration of the text with prior knowledge. Participants read either a high- or low-coherence text twice, or they read both the high- and low-coherence texts in one order or the other. Reading the low-coherence text first should force the reader to use prior knowledge to fill in the conceptual gaps. However, reading the high-coherence text first was predicted to negate the necessity of using prior knowledge to understand the low-coherence text when the latter was presented second. As predicted, high-knowledge readers benefited from the low-coherence only text when it was read first. Low-knowledge readers benefited from the high-coherence text, regardless of whether it was read first, second, or twice.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 51-62 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - Mar 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Cite this
Reading both high-coherence and low-coherence texts : Effects of text sequence and prior knowledge. / McNamara, Danielle.
In: Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 55, No. 1, 03.2001, p. 51-62.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Reading both high-coherence and low-coherence texts
T2 - Effects of text sequence and prior knowledge
AU - McNamara, Danielle
PY - 2001/3
Y1 - 2001/3
N2 - Previous research (e.g., McNamara, Kintsch, Songer, & Kintsch, 1996) has demonstrated that high-knowledge readers learn more from low-coherence than high-coherence texts. This study further examined the assumption that this advantage is due to the use of knowledge to fill in the gaps in the text, resulting in an integration of the text with prior knowledge. Participants read either a high- or low-coherence text twice, or they read both the high- and low-coherence texts in one order or the other. Reading the low-coherence text first should force the reader to use prior knowledge to fill in the conceptual gaps. However, reading the high-coherence text first was predicted to negate the necessity of using prior knowledge to understand the low-coherence text when the latter was presented second. As predicted, high-knowledge readers benefited from the low-coherence only text when it was read first. Low-knowledge readers benefited from the high-coherence text, regardless of whether it was read first, second, or twice.
AB - Previous research (e.g., McNamara, Kintsch, Songer, & Kintsch, 1996) has demonstrated that high-knowledge readers learn more from low-coherence than high-coherence texts. This study further examined the assumption that this advantage is due to the use of knowledge to fill in the gaps in the text, resulting in an integration of the text with prior knowledge. Participants read either a high- or low-coherence text twice, or they read both the high- and low-coherence texts in one order or the other. Reading the low-coherence text first should force the reader to use prior knowledge to fill in the conceptual gaps. However, reading the high-coherence text first was predicted to negate the necessity of using prior knowledge to understand the low-coherence text when the latter was presented second. As predicted, high-knowledge readers benefited from the low-coherence only text when it was read first. Low-knowledge readers benefited from the high-coherence text, regardless of whether it was read first, second, or twice.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0035290114&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 11301728
AN - SCOPUS:0035290114
VL - 55
SP - 51
EP - 62
JO - Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology
JF - Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology
SN - 1196-1961
IS - 1
ER -