Ladislao Salmerón

Reading Strategies and Hypertext Comprehension

The literature on assessing the cognitive processes involved in hypertext comprehension during the past 15 years has yielded contradictory results. In this article we explore a possible factor affecting this situation, mainly the fact that previous works did not control for the potential effects on comprehension of reading strategies in hypertext. In Experiment 1, results showed that reading strategies selectively affect the textbase and the situation model level. The number of different nodes read mainly affected the textbase, whereas the reading order influenced the situation model. In Experiment 2, the analysis of reading strategies replicated the effect of knowledge and coherence found in the literature on linear text comprehension (McNamara & Kintsch, 1996), but it was not replicated in hypertext. Low-knowledge participants learned more by following a high coherent reading order, whereas high-knowledge participants learned more by reading the hypertext in a low-coherence order. We discuss the theoretical and methodological consequences of this approach for the study of hypertext comprehension.

Reading strategies and prior knowledge in learning from hypertext

In two experiments, we identified two main strategies followed by hypertext readers in selecting their reading orders. The first consisted in selecting the text semantically related to the previously read section (coherence strategy), and the second in choosing the most interesting text, delaying reading of less interesting sections (interest strategy). Comprehension data revealed that these strategies affected learning differently as a function of the reader’s prior knowledge. For low-knowledge readers, the coherence strategy supported better learning of the content. This effect seems to rely on the improvement of reading order coherence induced by this strategy. By contrast, for intermediateknowledge readers the coherence and the interest strategies benefited comprehension equally. In both cases, learning was supported through the active processing induced by these strategies. Discussion focuses on resolving inconsistencies in the literature concerning whether or not hypertext supports better comprehension than does traditional linear texts.

Do graphical overviews facilitate or hinder comprehension in hypertext

Educational hypertexts usually include graphical overviews, conveying the structure of the text schematically with the aim of fostering comprehension. Despite the claims about their relevance, there is currently no consensus on the impact that hypertext overviews have on the readers comprehension. In the present paper we have explored how hypertext overviews might affect comprehension with regard to (a) the time at which students read the overview and (b) the hypertext difficulty. The results from two eye-tracking studies revealed that reading a graphical overview at the beginning of the hypertext is related to an improvement in the participants comprehension of quite difficult hypertexts, whereas reading an overview at the end of the hypertext is linked to a decrease in the students comprehension of easier hypertexts. These findings are interpreted in light of the Assimilation Theory and the Active Processing model. Finally, the key educational and hypertext design implications of the results are discussed.

Recording online processes in task-oriented reading with Read&Answer

We present an application to study task-oriented reading processes called Read&Answer. The application mimics paper-and-pencil situations in which a reader interacts with one or more documents to perform a specific task, such as answering questions, writing an essay, or similar activities. Read&Answer presents documents and questions with a mask. The reader unmasks documents and questions so that only a piece of information is available at a time. This way the entire interaction between the reader and the documents on the task is recorded and can be analyzed. We describe Read&Answer and present its applications for research and assessment. Finally, we explain two studies that compare readers’ performance on Read&Answer with students’ reading times and comprehension levels on a paper-and-pencil task, and on a computer task recorded with eye-tracking. The use of Read&Answer produced similar comprehension scores, although it changed the pattern of reading times.

Improving deaf users' accessibility in hypertext information retrieval: are graphical interfaces useful for them?

This paper explores the effect of substituting textual links for graphical ones on the performance of deaf signers in hypertext information retrieval (HIR). Both deaf and hearing users found more targets, were faster and became less disoriented in the verbal hypertext interface than in the graphical one. Deaf users were outperformed by hearing users in all conditions except in short paths with the graphical interface. The results and its applied consequences, which would be also relevant to other users with similar problems than those of deaf signers (elderly people, people with dyslexia, people navigating in a website using a foreign language or people with low literacy) are discussed in relation to the CoLiDeS model of web interaction (Kitajima et al. 2000) and to the overgeneralisation of ‘Picture superiority effect’ (Nelson et al. 1976).

Attentional biases toward emotional images in the different episodes of bipolar disorder: An eye-tracking study

Attentional biases toward emotional information may represent vulnerability and maintenance factors in bipolar disorder (BD). The present experimental study examined the processing of emotional information in BD patients using the eye-tracking technology. Bipolar patients in their different states (euthymia, mania, depression) simultaneously viewed four pictures with different emotional valence (happy, neutral, sad, threatening) for 20s while their eye movements were monitored. A group of healthy individuals served as the control. The data revealed the following: (i) a decrease in attention to happy images in BD patients in their depressive episodes compared to healthy individuals, and (ii) an increase in attention to threatening images in BD patients (regardless of their episode) relative to the healthy controls. These biases appeared in the late stages of information processing and were sustained over the 20s interval. Thus, the present findings reveal that attentional biases toward emotional information can be a key feature of BD, in that: (i) an anhedonic lack of sensitivity to positive stimuli during the bipolar depressive episode may be considered a maintaining factor of this clinical state, and (ii) the trait-bias toward threat, even in asymptomatic patients, may reflect a marker of vulnerability in BD.

Cognitive inflexibility and the development and use of strategies for solving complex dynamic problems: effects of different types of training

Performance in dynamic complex problem tasks is affected by cognitive inflexibility, whereby people are sometimes unable to adapt their strategies to unexpected changes in their surroundings. This cognitive inflexibility only affects a persons performance when the environmental changes are relevant to the particular problem-solving strategy that they are using. This paper describes a new methodology to detect cognitive flexibility in the use of strategies and presents an experiment designed to test the hypothesis, proving that the type of training affects cognitive flexibility.

Are expert users always better searchers? Interaction of expertise and semantic grouping in hypertext search tasks

The facilitative effect of expertise in hypertext information retrieval (IR) tasks has been widely reported in related literature. However, recent theories of human expertise question the robustness of this result, since previous works have not fully considered the interaction between user and system characteristics. In this study, the constraint attunement hypothesis (CAH) is considered in order to predict that the effect of expertise in IR would appear only when the user and system characteristics can be combined successfully. Results from an experiment revealed that expert users outperformed novice users in IR when the elements of a system interface are organized semantically, but not when organized randomly. Results are discussed in the framework of the CAH supporting the interactive nature of human behaviour in HCI.

Concept Maps for Comprehension and Navigation of Hypertexts

Comprehension and learning with hypertexts are challenging due to the nonlinearity of such digital documents. Processing hypertexts may involve navigation and comprehension problems, leading learners to cognitive overhead. Concept maps have been added to hypertexts to reduce the cognitive requirements of navigation and comprehension. This chapter explores the literature to examine the effects of concept maps on navigation, comprehension, and learning from hypertexts. The literature review aims to elucidate how concept maps may contribute to processing hypertexts and under which conditions. In spite of the variability of concept maps used in hypertexts, some findings converge. Concept maps reduce the cognitive requirements for processing hypertexts. They support outcomes as well as guiding learner navigation. They convey a macrostructure of the semantic relationships between content that supports more coherent navigation and promotes the construction of a mental representation of the information structure of hypertexts. In practice, concept maps are only beneficial for learners with low skills or low prior domain knowledge. Studies have shown that different strategies in processing concept maps may explain a part of the variance in the benefits provided by the concept maps. Processing that occurs early in the learning task yields better comprehension performance. The conclusions lead to recommendations for designing effective concept maps for learning from hypertexts. Further research could be conducted on the online processes by using eye movement recording in order to analyze dynamic processes during learning.

Children's Reading of Printed Text and Hypertext with Navigation Overviews: The Role of Comprehension, Sustained Attention, and Visuo-Spatial Abilities

Hypertexts include new structural features, such as navigable graphical overviews, that dramatically change the way students interact with texts. Nevertheless, at school students traditionally practice literacy skills appropriate for reading and comprehending printed texts. We explored the possibility that those skills might not be the same as the ones required to master hypertext reading. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that hypertext structural features, such as navigable graphical overviews, might scaffold students with low comprehension and sustained-attention abilities, but demand higher involvement of visuo-spatial skills. Results from a group of 6th-grade students only partially supported the hypertext structural hypothesis: while students with low sustained-attention abilities scored higher on questions demanding the integration of information in the hypertext version, the impact of comprehension and visuo-spatial abilities on performance did not differ between text types. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and potential instructional applications of the results.