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The current state of much research on written patient education materials (WPEM) suggests that they are written in a manner that is too difficult even for educated patients to understand and remember. Much of the research in this area is focused on modification of the readability of WPEM, which has shown to be relatively ineffective. In this study, an attempt was made to determine if a theory-based method in revising WPEM for improved comprehensibility and memorability was effective. The effectiveness of three versions of WPEM regarding breast self-exams (BSEs) was examined; the original version without illustrations obtained from the American ...

To explore the importance of text cohesion, we conducted two experiments. We measured online (reading times) and offline (comprehension accuracy) processes for texts that were high and low cohesion. In study one (n = 60), we manipulated referential cohesion using noun repetition (high cohesion) and synonymy (low cohesion). Students showed enhanced comprehension accuracy and faster comprehension responses for text that were high in referential cohesion. In study two (n = 52), we examined connective text designs (‘because’, ‘and’ and ‘no connective’). Students demonstrated enhanced reading times for text using a ‘because’ connective. Additionally, we examined the individual differences (reading ability, ...

To explore the importance of text cohesion, we conducted two experiments. We measured online (reading times) and offline (comprehension accuracy) processes for texts that were high and low cohesion. In study one (n = 60), we manipulated referential cohesion using noun repetition (high cohesion) and synonymy (low cohesion). Students showed enhanced comprehension accuracy and faster comprehension responses for text that were high in referential cohesion. In study two (n = 52), we examined connective text designs (‘because’, ‘and’ and ‘no connective’). Students demonstrated enhanced reading times for text using a ‘because’ connective. Additionally, we examined the individual differences (reading ability, ...

The present study examined associations between individual differences and comprehension capabilities of secondary school children when reading texts about science topics of varying levels of cohesion (i.e. low versus high cohesion). We administered measures of learning after reading high and low cohesion texts (defined by repetition of nouns and phrases) to 60 students (31 boys, 29 girls) and measured cognitive ability, facets of conscientiousness, and science self-efficacy. Students achieved better learning from high cohesion text. High cognitive ability was associated with good performance with both texts, whereas low cognitive ability was associated with poor performance on low cohesion text. High ...

Previous research on the effect of word length on reading confounded the number of letters (NrL) in a word with its spatial width. Consequently, the extent to which visuospatial and attentional-linguistic processes contribute to the word length effect on parafoveal and foveal vision in reading and dyslexia is unknown. Scholars recently suggested that visual crowding is an important factor for determining an individual’s reading speed in fluent and dyslexic reading. We studied whether the NrL or the spatial width of target words affects fixation duration and saccadic measures in natural reading in fluent and dysfluent readers of a transparent orthography. ...

Research shows that when evaluating competing explanations people usually discount an explanation in favor of an alternative explanation and, at the same time, prefer the explanation that is provided before an alternative explanation. In this article, we examine how inconsistencies in one but not the other explanation influence the evaluation and comprehension of pairs of competing explanations. In an experiment with N = 46 university students, we manipulated the consistency, the order, and the structure of competing explanations. The results showed that the inclusion of inconsistencies reduced the perceived quality of an explanation. However, regardless of whether inconsistencies were included ...

We investigated how working memory capacity (WMC) and text difficulty affect metacomprehension accuracy. Participants completed the operation-span test to measure WMC and ability to read expository texts. Under the easy-text condition, participants read 4 texts with increasing local cohesion, whereas under the difficult-text condition, participants read 4 original texts. Participants assigned a comprehension rating to each text and then completed a comprehension test. The results revealed a significant interactive effect of WMC and text difficulty on metacomprehension accuracy in Experiments 1 and 2. Under the easy-text condition, higher-WMC readers monitored their comprehension less accurately than did lower-WMC readers. In contrast, ...

Background. Primary treatment of localized prostate cancer can result in bothersome urinary, sexual, and bowel symptoms. Yet clinical application of health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) questionnaires is rare. We employed user-centered design to develop graphic dashboards of questionnaire responses from patients with prostate cancer to facilitate clinical integration of HRQOL measurement. Methods. We interviewed 50 prostate cancer patients and 50 providers, assessed literacy with validated instruments (Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine short form, Subjective Numeracy Scale, Graphical Literacy Scale), and presented participants with prototype dashboards that display prostate cancer-specific HRQOL with graphic elements derived from patient focus groups. We assessed ...

Contemporary evidence on the effectiveness of concrete and abstract representations inscience education is based solely on studies conducted in college context. There it has beenfound that learning with abstract representations produces predominantly better outcomesthan learning with concrete representations and combining the representations can be evenmore productive. In the present study, 52 elementary school students used a computersimulation to discover the basic principles of electric circuits. The perceptual concreteness ofsimulation elements either remained concrete or switched from concrete to abstract during thelearning. In order to compare the relative effectiveness of the learning conditions and assessthe changes in students’ conceptual understanding, the ...

Previous research has found that low-literate consumers tend to rely heavily on pictures to process marketplace information. The current study investigates the conditions under which pictures in product-warning statements become detrimental or beneficial for information processing among consumers with varying levels of literacy. The findings suggest that, relative to consumers with higher literacy levels, consumers with lower literacy levels display lower comprehension levels and make more errors when they view incongruent pictures in productwarning statements. The results also show that, consumers with lower literacy levels benefit significantly more in comprehension and in reduction of errors relative to consumers with higher ...