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Text coherence can be marked linguistically by using connectives and lexical signals that make coherence relations explicit. This study focuses on the influence of such markers on text comprehension in ecologically valid contexts. A first experiment shows how readers in a business meeting and in a laboratory study benefit from the explicit marking of coherence relations. A second experiment shows how poor readers in secondary education benefit from coherence marking while answering text comprehension questions. We argue in favor of an interaction between cognitively oriented research on discourse representation and document design research, to solve crucial questions like: how do ...

Text coherence can be marked linguistically by using connectives and lexical signals that make coherence relations explicit. This study focuses on the influence of such markers on text comprehension in ecologically valid contexts. A first experiment shows how readers in a business meeting and in a laboratory study benefit from the explicit marking of coherence relations. A second experiment shows how poor readers in secondary education benefit from coherence marking while answering text comprehension questions. We argue in favor of an interaction between cognitively oriented research on discourse representation and document design research, to solve crucial questions like: how do ...

Three experiments examined processing and recall differences associated with 2 different types of seductive details (i.e., highly interesting, but unimportant, text segments). Experiment 1 provided evidence of 2 different types of seductive details: those that are less interesting when read in isolation (context dependent) and those that are equally interesting in context or isolation (context independent). Experiment 2 found that context-dependent seductive details took longer to read and were recalled better than main ideas. Context-independent seductive details were recalled as well as context-dependent seductive details, but did not require more reading time than main ideas. Experiment 3 found that including ...

Three experiments examined processing and recall differences associated with 2 different types of seductive details (i.e., highly interesting, but unimportant, text segments). Experiment 1 provided evidence of 2 different types of seductive details: those that are less interesting when read in isolation (context dependent) and those that are equally interesting in context or isolation (context independent). Experiment 2 found that context-dependent seductive details took longer to read and were recalled better than main ideas. Context-independent seductive details were recalled as well as context-dependent seductive details, but did not require more reading time than main ideas. Experiment 3 found that including ...

Three experiments examined processing and recall differences associated with 2 different types of seductive details (i.e., highly interesting, but unimportant, text segments). Experiment 1 provided evidence of 2 different types of seductive details: those that are less interesting when read in isolation (context dependent) and those that are equally interesting in context or isolation (context independent). Experiment 2 found that context-dependent seductive details took longer to read and were recalled better than main ideas. Context-independent seductive details were recalled as well as context-dependent seductive details, but did not require more reading time than main ideas. Experiment 3 found that including ...

This paper describes a Web-based study that examines the effect of heading frequency on comprehension, anxiety levels of patients, and perceptions of ease of use of an educational medical Web site. The study focuses on arthritis patients using content from a naturally occurring Web site that was adapted for this study. We expect that more headings will result in higher comprehension and that as comprehension increases, anxiety will decrease. Data are still being collected; results are presented. ...

This paper describes a Web-based study that examines the effect of heading frequency on comprehension, anxiety levels of patients, and perceptions of ease of use of an educational medical Web site. The study focuses on arthritis patients using content from a naturally occurring Web site that was adapted for this study. We expect that more headings will result in higher comprehension and that as comprehension increases, anxiety will decrease. Data are still being collected; results are presented. ...

The complexity and linguistic construction of jury instructions can inhibit jurors' ability to comprehend and apply the law. Study 1 analyzes questions asked by actual deliberating jurors in order to identify sources of juror misunderstanding in criminal pattern jury instructions. Instructions concerning "reasonable doubt," criminal "intent," the use of evidence concerning prior convictions, and the general duties of jurors, are selected for further investigation. Study 2 uses videotaped trial materials to pinpoint linguistic problems that confuse jurors and interfere with their abilities to accurately comprehend and apply the selected pattern jury instructions. Available knowledge concerning psycholinguistics is then applied to ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of color, graphics, and animation in a computer-assisted learning (CAL) tutorial lesson. The 119 subjects were randomly assigned to one of the six groups which resulted from a 2 x 3 design (monitor type (color vs. black and white) x treatment (text, graphics, and animation)). Each subject participated in a single 20-minute CAL session, the purpose of which was to teach the mathematical rule for average speed. Results of the 2 x 3 analysis of covariance on the performance measure revealed that the animated graphics group scored significantly higher ...

Objective: Women at high risk of breast cancer face a difficult decision whether to take medications like tamoxifen to prevent a first breast cancer diagnosis. Decision aids (DAs) offer a promising method of helping them make this decision. But concern lingers that DAs might introduce cognitive biases. Methods: We recruited 663 women at high risk of breast cancer and presented them with a DA designed to experimentally test potential methods of identifying and reducing cognitive biases that could influence this decision, by varying specific aspects of the DA across participants in a factorial design. Results: Participants were susceptible to a ...