Hyona, J. (1994). Processing of topic shifts by adults and children. Reading Research Quarterly, 29(1), 76-90.

Hyona, J.

1994

Hyona, J. (1994). Processing of topic shifts by adults and children. Reading Research Quarterly, 29(1), 76-90.

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Previous on-line studies of text processing have established a so-called topic-shift effect: Sentences that initiate a new topic in a text are given additional processing time by skilled adult readers. The present study was designed to investigate this phenomenon further among experienced and less experienced readers. In Experiment 1, the processing of topic shifts was examined among adult readers and fifth graders of at least average comprehension ability; in Experiment 2, adults were contrasted with good and poor fifth-grade comprehenders. Two modes of text presentation were applied: one where topic boundaries were visually signalled by paragraphing, and another where sentences appeared individually on the computer screen. Both experiments established a highly reliable topic-shift effect for each subject group. Adults were shown to manifest a proportionately greater effect than fifth graders when more difficult expository texts were used, but not with easy narratives. Paragraph marking did not influence the processing of topic shifts.

Experiment 2 replicated experiment 1 and the Lorch, Lorch, Gretter and Horn (1987) study in demonstrating a highly reliable topic-shift effect for adults as well as good and poor fifth-grade pupils. Experiment 2 differed from experiment 1 and from Lorch et al in revealing a relatively more pronounced effect among adults than among fifth graders. That is, the adult reader made a proportionately greater adjustment to their reading pace in relation to the shifts in the discourse topic, compared to either better of poorer fifth-grade comprehenders.

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