Tracy Linderholm

The Effects of Reading Purpose and Working Memory Capacity on the Processing of Expository Text

The extent to which low- and high-WMC (working memory capacity) readers adjust cognitive processes to fit the reading purpose was examined. Participants performed a verbal protocol task as they read an expository text under 1 of 2 reading purpose conditions, entertainment or study, and then completed a free-recall task. When reading to study, low-WMC readers emphasized less demanding processes over more demanding processes to a greater extent than high-WMC readers and recalled less. When reading for entertainment, patterns of processes and recall were similar across readers. Thus, all readers adjusted processing to fit the reading purpose; however, when reading for study, low-WMC readers emphasized processes that were the least demanding on their resources but not necessarily beneficial for recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Predictive Inference Generation as a Function of Working Memory Capacity and Causal Text Constraints

Two factors that affect the predictive inferential process are examined: the working memory (WM) capacity of the reader and causal text constraints. A naming task was used in Experiment 1 to investigate predictive inferences that were based on texts containing low, moderate, and high causal sufficiency events at 2 time delays (250 and 500 ms). The results indicated that high WM capacity readers make predictive inferences when texts contain high causal sufficiency events, at both time delays, as evidenced by naming time differences between high-low and high-moderate causal sufficiency conditions. There is no evidence that low WM capacity readers make predictive inferences at either time delay. In Experiment 2, reading times for target sentences that either confirmed or contradicted predictive inferences in low, moderate, and high causal sufficiency conditions were collected. The results showed that high WM capacity readers make predictive inferences when causal sufficiency is high and target sentences confirmatory and that both low and high WM capacity readers make predictive inferences based on the comparison between high causal sufficiency texts in the confirmatory versus contradictory conditions. Thus, both experiments demonstrate that generating predictive inferences is a demanding process that requires a certain amount of WM resources and causal text constraints.

Fluctuations in the Availability of Information During Reading: Capturing Cognitive Processes Using the Landscape Model

In this investigation, we examine the availability of text elements over the course of reading a text. We describe the Landscape model (van den Broek, Young, Tzeng, & Linderholm, 1999) that captures, in one theoretical framework, multiple cognitive processes during reading and the resulting fluctuating activations of text elements. To demonstrate the applicability of the Landscape model, we simulate the availability of text elements in two reading situations. First, the Landscape model is shown to incorporate readers� specific purpose for reading, affecting the availability of text elements as a function of different standards of coherence. Second, the Landscape model is shown to incorporate readers� background knowledge during reading, allowing readers to detect inconsistencies in a text. Theoretical accounts such as the Landscape model extend our understanding of—and to investigate—the process of reading by providing information about the availability of text elements in a unified theoretical framework, thereby extending and complementing behavioral data.

Hemispheric processing of inferences: The effects of textual constraint and working memory capacity

In this study, we investigated hemispheric differences in the generation of bridging and predictive inferences. Participants read texts that provided either strong or weak causal constraints for a particular bridging (Experiment 1) or predictive (Experiment 2) inference and performed a lexical decision task to inference-related targets presented to the left or the right hemisphere. Facilitation for strongly constrained bridging and predictive inferences was found in both hemispheres. In contrast, facilitation for weakly constrained inferences was stronger in the right than in the left hemisphere for both bridging and predictive inferences, although for the latter there was some facilitation in the left hemisphere as well. We also considered whether these effects differ as a function of the working memory capacity of the reader. High working memory capacity readers showed greater facilitation for strongly constrained inferences than for weakly constrained inferences in both hemispheres, whereas low working memory capacity readers showed this same pattern in the left hemisphere but showed equal facilitation for strongly and weakly constrained inferences in the right hemisphere. These results suggest that hemispheric processing, textual constraint, and working memory capacity interact to affect how readers generate causal inferences.

Suppression of Story Character Goals During Reading.

The objective of this study was to determine how readers process narrative texts when the main character has multiple, and changing, goals. Readers must keep track of such goals to understand the causal relations between text events, an important process for comprehension. The structure building framework theory of reading proposes that readers maintain the most relevant goal in focus using the mechanism of suppression. The results of this study confirm that readers maintain the activation of goal information that is rementioned in a text and suppress previous goal information when a new goal is introduced. Thus, in an attempt to understand the causal relations between events in a text, readers keep track of multiple story character goals by using suppression.

Multiple Science Text Processing: Building Comprehension Skills for College Student Readers

The goal of this investigation was to determine which reading instruction improves multiple science text comprehension for college student readers. The authors first identified the cognitive processing strategies that are predictive of multiple science text comprehension (Study 1) and then used what they learned to experimentally test the effectiveness of explicit pre-reading instructions (Study 2). Study 1 showed that self-explaining was positively related to comprehension tasks. Study 2 showed that explicitly instructing participants to self-explain while reading multiple science texts enhanced comprehension test performance. These results showed that self-explanation during reading is a successful strategy for enhancing multiple science text comprehension.

The benefit of self-testing and interleaving for synthesizing concepts across multiple physiology texts

A testing-based learning strategy is one that relies on the act of recalling (i.e., testing) information after exposure, and interleaving is a strategy in which the learning materials are presented in a serial order (e.g., texts 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3) versus a blocked order (e.g., texts 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3). Although both learning strategies have been thoroughly investigated, few studies have examined their additive effect with higher-order cognitive tasks such as the ability to identify themes across multiple texts, and none of those did so using physiology information. The purpose of the present study was to compare recall and thematic processing across five different physiology texts. Participants were randomly assigned to learn the texts using one of the following four learning strategies: 1) study-study-study (S-S-S) using a blocked order, 2) S-S-S using an interleaved order, 3) study-test-study (S-T-S) using a blocked order, and 4) S-T-S using an interleaved order. Over the course of the following week, the S-T-S groups had more stable recall of key text ideas compared with the S-S-S groups, and the S-T-S group had more stable recall of thematic information than the S-S-S group when interleaving was used as the presentation order.

Distributed Retrieval Practice Promotes Superior Recall of Anatomy Information.

Effortful retrieval produces greater long‐term recall of information when compared to studying (i.e., reading), as do learning sessions that are distributed (i.e., spaced apart) when compared to those that are massed together. Although the retrieval and distributed practice effects are well‐established in the cognitive science literature, no studies have examined their additive effect with regard to learning anatomy information. The aim of this study was to determine how the benefits of retrieval practice vary with massed versus distributed learning. Participants used the following strategies to learn sets of skeletal muscle anatomy: (1) studying on three different days over a seven day period (SSSS7,2,0), (2) studying and retrieving on three different days over a seven day period (SRSR7,2,0), (3) studying on two different days over a two day period (SSSSSS2,0), (4) studying and retrieving on two separate days over a two day period (SRSRSR2,0), and (5) studying and retrieving on one day (SRx60). All strategies consisted of 12 learning phases and lasted exactly 24 minutes. Muscle information retention was assessed via free recall and using repeated measures ANOVAs. A week after learning, the recall scores were 24.72 ± 3.12, 33.88 ± 3.48, 15.51 ± 2.48, 20.72 ± 2.94, and 12.86 ± 2.05 for the SSSS7,2,0, SRSR7,2,0, SSSSSS2,0, STSTST2,0, and SRx60 strategies, respectively. In conclusion, the distributed strategies produced significantly better recall than the massed strategies, the retrieval‐based strategies produced significantly better recall than the studying strategies, and the combination of distributed and retrieval practice generated the greatest recall of anatomy information. Anat Sci Educ 10: 339–347.

Retrieval practice enhances the ability to evaluate complex physiology information

Many investigations have shown that retrieval practice enhances the recall of different types of information, including both medical and physiological, but the effects of the strategy on higher‐order thinking, such as evaluation, are less clear. The primary aim of this study was to compare how effectively retrieval practice and repeated studying (i.e. reading) strategies facilitated the evaluation of two research articles that advocated dissimilar conclusions. A secondary aim was to determine if that comparison was affected by using those same strategies to first learn important contextual information about the articles.

Reading speed as a constraint of accuracy of self‐perception of reading skill

We hypothesised that college students take reading speed into consideration when evaluating their own reading skill, even if reading speed does not reliably predict actual reading skill. To test this hypothesis, we measured self-perception of reading skill, self-perception of reading speed, actual reading skill and actual reading speed to determine the relations that exist. The results supported our predictions. Primarily, self-perceived reading speed strongly correlated with self-perceived reading skill, whereas the correlation between actual reading speed and actual reading skill was low. Next, a multiple regression analysis showed that self-perception of reading speed significantly predicted self-perception of reading skill after controlling for actual reading skill. Lastly, how highly correlated reading skill was with self-perceived reading speed was found to affect how accurately one perceived his or her reading skill. Consequently, the study results suggest a negative impact of self-perceived reading speed on accuracy of self-perceived reading skill, as hypothesised.