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PURPOSE: Willingness and ability to learn from health information in text are crucial for people to be informed and make better medical decisions. These two user characteristics are influenced by the perceived and actual difficulty of text. Our goal is to find text features that are indicative of perceived and actual difficulty so that barriers to reading can be lowered and understanding of information increased. METHODS: We systematically manipulated three text characteristics, - overall sentence structure (active, passive, extraposed-subject, or sentential-subject), noun phrases complexity (simple or complex), and function word density (high or low), - which are more fine-grained metrics ...

In 2 experiments, 102 15-17 yr old high school students read and listened to either a signaled or nonsignaled expository passage. The signals consisted of preview sentences, underlined headings, and logical connective phrases. The results show a pattern in which the signaled groups performed better on recall of conceptual information and on generating high quality problem solutions, whereas the nonsignaled groups excelled on recall of information from the beginning and end of the passage and on generating low quality problem solutions. These results suggest that signaling is effective in modifying students' reading strategies. ...

In 2 experiments, 102 15-17 yr old high school students read and listened to either a signaled or nonsignaled expository passage. The signals consisted of preview sentences, underlined headings, and logical connective phrases. The results show a pattern in which the signaled groups performed better on recall of conceptual information and on generating high quality problem solutions, whereas the nonsignaled groups excelled on recall of information from the beginning and end of the passage and on generating low quality problem solutions. These results suggest that signaling is effective in modifying students' reading strategies. ...

Three experiments investigated the effects of syntactic complexity on the persuasiveness of advertising. Experiment 1 showed that, in a broadcast advertising context, syntactic complexity affects recall and recognition but not the persuasiveness of the advertising. However, Experiment 2 indicated that, in a print context, persuasiveness of an advertisement is affected by syntactic complexity. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that motivation to process information interacts with syntactic complexity to determine the persuasiveness of print advertising. These results imply that the impact of syntactic complexity on advertising effectiveness is more complicated than previously thought. ...

Three experiments investigated the effects of syntactic complexity on the persuasiveness of advertising. Experiment 1 showed that, in a broadcast advertising context, syntactic complexity affects recall and recognition but not the persuasiveness of the advertising. However, Experiment 2 indicated that, in a print context, persuasiveness of an advertisement is affected by syntactic complexity. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that motivation to process information interacts with syntactic complexity to determine the persuasiveness of print advertising. These results imply that the impact of syntactic complexity on advertising effectiveness is more complicated than previously thought. ...

Patients (n = 404) with osteoarthrosis and control subjects (n = 233) were studied to examine the communicational value of five styles of illustration (cartoon (C), matchstick (M), representational (R), symbolic (S), photographic (P) and two levels of text ('easy', 'hard'), presented as educational blooklets about osteoarthrosis. Booklet comprehension was tested with a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) scored by two raw score and two, more sensitive, weight-of-evidence methods. Further studies assessed perception of image detail, tone, and colour by ranking, rating, latency, and questionnaire methods. A subgroup was tested psychometrically. The main findings were: (a) pictures in booklets enhance communication; ...

Three experiments investigated the effects of negation during on-line language processing. It was hypothesized that negation of a noun (e.g., no bread) would affect the activation level of the mental representation of that noun. Experiment 1 manipulated the location of the negation in sentences that were followed by a probe recognition task. Subjects were slower to indicate that a probe had been in the sentence when the probe corresponded to a negated noun. Experiment 2 replicated these results with a probe naming task. Experiment 3 replicated the result that reading the phrase no bread inhibits responses to bread in the ...

Three experiments investigated the effects of negation during on-line language processing. It was hypothesized that negation of a noun (e.g., no bread) would affect the activation level of the mental representation of that noun. Experiment 1 manipulated the location of the negation in sentences that were followed by a probe recognition task. Subjects were slower to indicate that a probe had been in the sentence when the probe corresponded to a negated noun. Experiment 2 replicated these results with a probe naming task. Experiment 3 replicated the result that reading the phrase no bread inhibits responses to bread in the ...

Three experiments investigated the effects of negation during on-line language processing. It was hypothesized that negation of a noun (e.g., no bread) would affect the activation level of the mental representation of that noun. Experiment 1 manipulated the location of the negation in sentences that were followed by a probe recognition task. Subjects were slower to indicate that a probe had been in the sentence when the probe corresponded to a negated noun. Experiment 2 replicated these results with a probe naming task. Experiment 3 replicated the result that reading the phrase no bread inhibits responses to bread in the ...

The present study examines the effects of print and online presentations of a multiple document report on readers' comprehension, perception of cognitive load, satisfaction, and attention. We hypothesized that users of online media would show poorer results compared with print users. An experimental protocol was used to assess readers' performance using print and online versions of a popular science magazine report. Hypertext led to higher perceived cognitive load and poorer comprehension of the complementary documents. The results suggest that presenting graphics in long hypertexts increases effort and reduces text legibility. The present data offer support for theories of disorientation and ...