ABSTRACT. We examined whether providing a supporting context for true or false information affects participants’ later judgements of that information (i.e., whether contexts supporting true or false ideas influence participants’ subsequent judgments of those ideas as true or false). Preliminary results show that supporting contexts can lead people to agree with inaccurate ideas they should know are wrong, but that supporting contexts can also lead people to agree with accurate ideas they know are right.

ABSTRACT. College students (N = 84) read sets of fictional news articles with misinformation followed by corrected information on paper and screens in a within subjects experiment. There were no reliable differences between medium for misinformation ratings indicating the continued influence effect nor for memory of the articles. Epistemic emotions may have been more strongly associated with misinformation ratings when reading from paper than from screen. There were no reliable differences in epistemic emotions by medium.

ABSTRACT. Research on single exposures to inaccuracies has predominantly focused on immediate consequences, with limited investigation into potential long-term effects. The current project explored the effects of single exposures to inaccurate information immediately after reading and following a 2-month delay, using two different types of tests: an open-recall task and a validity judgment task. Results indicate that the effects of exposures decrease after a 2-month delay, but at different rates depending on the type of test.

ABSTRACT. Validation is routinely carried out during comprehension, providing an implicit monitoring of the plausibility of currently read information. Validation can be based on knowledge but also on beliefs stored in long-term memory. We conducted three studies to investigate how evaluation and comprehension of (mis)information on socioscientific issues is affected when belief-consistency and veracity interact. Results suggest that our cognitive system often fails to differentiate between true and false if information is belief-consistent.

ABSTRACT. To highlight emerging evidence that certain subpopulations of English readers achieve literacy by seizing on behavioral and neural routes traditionally believed to be used only by readers of non-alphabetic writing systems, we conducted a state-of-the-art review. We found that Chinese–English bilinguals, deaf native signers, compensated readers, and distortion-sensitive readers often exhibit limited reliance on phonological processing and high levels of bilateral visual wordform area engagement when reading English, patterns typically associated with non-alphabetic reading.

ABSTRACT. This study explored how U.S.-based International College Students processed English idioms compared to U.S.-based multilingual and monolingual peers. Participants (n =103) read 24 two-sentence passages containing a prime sentence and a target sentence (idiom, literal). The International students processed primes and literal sentences similarly to U.S. participants, but spent more time and were less accurate in processing idioms. Findings highlight how cultural differences may impact International students' linguistic experiences.

ABSTRACT. We examined whether reports of visual and verbal thoughts differed for mono- and multilingual readers as well as whether these potential differences were moderated by instructions. Monolingual and multilingual participants (n=313) were given instructions to read for a) comprehension or b) focus on specific textual elements; they then read a text and responded to thought probes periodically. Results revealed a significant interaction between language and instructional condition on the reports of visual imagery.

ABSTRACT. Highlights of the original research published in Multilingual Text Comprehension (Schönpflug, 2023) on children’s comprehension of texts in multiple languages are: - Comprehension processes mainly operate during text input; - text comprehension in L2 texts is less effective than in L1 texts in L1-dominant bilinguals opposed to balanced bilinguals; - inferences mediate between language and comprehension when languages are switched from input to recall; - a coherent mental text representation leads to fluent free recall.

ABSTRACT. Inaccurate information regularly appears on social media. Understanding ways to reduce people’s reliance on this information is critical for combating its influence on thought and behavior. We examined whether refutation replies to inaccurate social media posts might help people disregard the inaccuracies they have read. Across three experiments, reading refutation replies to false Tweets reduced participants' reproductions of inaccurate information conveyed in the posts. Refutations providing correct information proved especially beneficial in mitigating misinformation effects.

ABSTRACT. Engagement is important for learning from texts, yet little is known about task-unrelated thought in the context of well-known interventions such as refutation texts. We conducted an experiment in which participants responded to thought probes about whether they were on- or off-task while reading texts about vaccine misconceptions. Results showed that participants were more on-task while reading refutation texts compared to non-refutation texts. Implications for learning from refutation texts are discussed.

ABSTRACT. In inconsistency tasks, readers show longer reading times for inconsistent than for consistent text. However, it has remained unclear which reading behavior is associated with better inconsistency detection. We examined effects of reading behavior recorded with an eye tracker in an inconsistency task with expository texts on consistency judgment accuracy. A reanalysis of inconsistent target words and sentences was associated with better detection of inconsistencies, whereas there was no effect of longer first-pass reading.

ABSTRACT. This study examined how reads react to epistemically suspicious information (e.g., conspiracy theory claims) during reading. Participants (N=70) read 152 sentences (half were epistemically suspicious) while their eye movements were recorded. Participants rated the familiarity of each statement (yes/no) and how much they agreed with it (1=not at all, 7 = completely). Agreement with a statement increased regression path duration and total fixation time; this effect was particularly strong for unfamiliar statements.

ABSTRACT. We conducted a book reading experiment at an elementary school. Fifty-two Grades 4-5 students read a children’s novel on an electronic shared book reading platform that monitored and facilitated comprehension. Students took a word recognition test before and after reading the book. Results showed that students recognized more book words after reading the book, but not so for control words. Better book comprehension was associated with recognizing more new words after reading the book.

ABSTRACT. This study explored thresholds in the relation between college students' self-reported motivation and time investment to their literacy performance. Positive associations emerged below, but not above, these thresholds, signaling a point where heightened motivation was no longer correlated with enhanced performance. Students below the competence beliefs and time investment thresholds demonstrated improved foundational skills, with no such effect observed beyond. These findings provide insight into the interaction between motivation, foundational skills, and assessment performance.

ABSTRACT. In two studies, we examined factors predicting students' scores on a deep close reading comprehension test and how these scores predicted course performance and understanding of integrated texts. Results showed that students' language background, word recognition, and working memory explained variance in scores on the comprehension test. Additionally, higher scores on the test were associated with better course performance and improved understanding of integrated texts.

ABSTRACT. We report the findings from a preregistered and high-powered (N=300) study of individual differences in inference processing in multi-sentence passages, as measured by self-paced reading. The results indicate that: (i) qualitatively different inference types (bridging and instrument inference) draw on shared processing resources, (ii) the processing of these inference types is remarkably stable across the adult lifespan, and (iii) individual differences in inference abilities are genuinely trait-like, holding across two testing sessions 4 weeks apart.

ABSTRACT. The study investigated the effects of multitasking and disfluency on integrated understanding of informational texts with partially conflicting points of view in university students (N=213). While reading fluent (easier-to-read) or disfluent (harder-to-read) texts, students received, or did not, on-screen messages from social media and responded to them. Results showed a small significant effect of multitasking on integrated understanding. Disfluency had no effect on the reading outcome neither independently, nor interactively with multitasking.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the Place-on-a-Page (POP) effect, established in the 1970s, in the context of modern digital reading. By examining the impact of text format and prior knowledge, we explore how the medium by which text is presented affects comprehension and memory for spatial location in text. Our findings contribute insights into the evolving dynamics of reading in the digital age, considering factors such as format and expertise.

ABSTRACT. This study investigated differences in the effects of highlighting during reading on print and digitally, while also considering the role of working memory. Secondary school students read two long scientific texts, one on paper and one on screen. Half participants highlighted the texts during reading, while the others just read. Findings suggest that highlighting supports comprehension on screen and on paper differently. Moreover, digital reading can be particularly disadvantageous for learners with lower WM capacity.

ABSTRACT. Simplified texts, often needed but not available to educators, could be a valuable resource for supporting comprehension among striving readers in secondary settings. However, the development of such texts is a nontrivial task. In this proof-of-concept study, we employed NLP tools for a more nuanced examination of intuitive educator modifications in simplified texts. These results show promise for the use of NLP by educators to tailor texts to individual student strengths.

ABSTRACT. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize aspects of education and research. In this study, we compare think-aloud protocols that are coded by both AI (i.e., ChatGPT) and humans. We conduct statistical analyses on the AI-generated coding and compare that human-coded dataset. Preliminary results indicate that the categorical codes generated and coding process used by AI are similar to but not exactly the same as those used by human coders.

ABSTRACT. In this study, we investigated how various linguistic features in headlines influence their sharing using predictive modeling. Specifically, we focused on the detailed categorization of speech acts, in addition to other textual features. Overall, the combined model, which included both speech act and other textual features, performed the best, while the speech act-only model more accurately classified shared headlines as shared. Future research may be needed to explore additional linguistic patterns and improve predictions.

ABSTRACT. Pickup box lunch in Regents Lobby, 16th floor

ABSTRACT. Presenters: Michael Wolfe, Morton Gernsbacher, Isabel Tapiero, Bob Rehder, Tuen van Dijk, Charles Fletcher, Susan Goldman and Charles Weaver, Art Graesser and Eileen Kintsch.

ABSTRACT. Code comprehension is a critical skill for programmers, students and experts alike. Research in text comprehension suggests that text cohesion can improve learners’ comprehension of that text. In this study, we posit a notion of code cohesion based on text research and begin to validate several code cohesion manipulations on novice and experienced programmers. The results provide preliminary evidence for code cohesion and inform future examinations of cohesion on source code comprehension.

ABSTRACT. This study explores whether text complexity predicts the probability of text-connecting and elaborative inference generation. Think-aloud responses were analyzed to understand whether middle schoolers were more likely to generate text-connecting and elaborative inferences while reading simple and complex science texts. Mixed effects binomial regression indicated that students were more likely to generate elaborative inferences while reading a complex science text. Results contribute to understanding how text features influence middle schoolers’ comprehension of science texts.

ABSTRACT. Older (n = 118, 18-35 years) and younger adults (n = 109, 65-86 years) performed a repetitive computer-based reading task (Task 1), which, in a multitasking condition, was repeatedly interrupted by news app notifications (Task 2). In a single-tasking condition, the notifications appeared after Task 1. Afterwards, comprehension of the notification content was measured. We observed multitasking costs only in Task 1 and no indication of higher multitasking costs in older adults.

ABSTRACT. Subjects reported beliefs on gun control and control topics, then wrote an essay about gun control or another topic. Later, subjects read a Pro or Con text about gun control, reported beliefs, and recollected initial beliefs. Post-reading beliefs and recollections moved toward the text position. Neither effect was lessened by writing about gun control vs. a control topic. Results suggest beliefs and recollections are influenced by salient information at the time of generation.

ABSTRACT. This study investigated the effects of Collaborative Reasoning (CR) on promoting adolescents’ argumentative thinking. A total of 243 Chinese seventh-graders participated in an eight-day instructional intervention via CR or direct instruction (DI) and independently wrote an argumentative essay before and after the intervention. Analyses of argument elements indicated that CR students produced more rebuttals than DI students. The effect of CR on promoting adolescents’ refutation skills provides valuable insight for instructional reform in middle schools.

ABSTRACT. Narrative texts are easier to understand and remember than expository texts, but are they also more influential or persuasive? Prior evidence is mixed. An experiment with 824 undergraduates tested whether brief narrative texts could influence participants’ reported preferences about end-of-life medical treatments. The hypothesis that narrative texts would be more influential than expository texts was not confirmed. Preferences were, however, influenced more by reading about what doctors prefer for themselves than by what non-physicians prefer.

ABSTRACT. Students’ multiple document text comprehension is influenced by their understanding of the task, individual differences, and use of reading strategies. In the current study, students produced constructed responses while reading four texts. Students were assigned to one of three prompt conditions: self-explanation, source evaluation, or think aloud. We found that prompt was related to reading strategies, but not quality. Response quality related to text comprehension, but this effect was mediated by reading skill.

ABSTRACT. We assessed the efficacy of an intervention (VITO) on sourcing and intertextual integration while reading multiple texts. The study involved 83 7th-8th-grade students. Source knowledge and reading comprehension were assessed as control variables. The students who participated in the VITO intervention were engaged in three sessions on sourcing and intertextual integration at different stages of the reading-writing process. The students who participated in VITO outperformed control group students in intertextual integration, argumentative quality, and sourcing.

ABSTRACT. We studied the impact of different types of reading instructions (academic vs. assisted) on the integration of arguments in primary school children. Academic instructions included a prompt to read four conflicting texts and write an integrated synthesis. Assisted instructions also included a model, that showed a balanced inclusion of ideas and sources. The assisted condition included a higher number of literal ideas and sources and was more successful in a delayed identification of ideas task.

ABSTRACT. I examined concurrent predictors of the ability to integrate information presented across two texts (i.e., intertextual integration) among U.S. third-grade students with reading difficulties (n = 70). Students’ intertextual integration performance was significantly and positively associated with reading comprehension (RC) but not with word-level reading (WR) or passage-level reading fluency (RF). Furthermore, RC significantly predicted intertextual integration. However, the effect was small. Results also indicated that WR and RF were nonsignificant predictors of intertextual integration.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates whether comprehenders can infer discourse relational meaning from a gesture. We focus on three relation types: contrasts (expressed by gesturing on opposing sides of the body), lists (expressed by counting with fingers), and exception relations (expressed using a single raised finger). The results show that comprehenders are able to extract discourse relational meaning from the gestural discourse markers, but that the signal is not very strong (particularly for exception relations).

ABSTRACT. In an expectation-driven account of discourse processing, the facilitative effect of connectives on processing can be attributed to readers predicting the upcoming discourse relation, but also to predicting upcoming discourse content. By modeling relation vs. content prediction, we show that these accounts differ in when a connective should be most beneficial. We replicate the facilitative effect of the connective in self-paced reading, but do not find any evidence for either of the two accounts.

ABSTRACT. Recent work indicates that in, e.g., “Madeline [told/asked] Anna [that/if] she remembers when the lecture starts”, readers use perspective reasoning to judge that SHE=Madeline (subject) with tell-that and Anna (object) with ask-if. Could this effect arise from shallow lexical cues from TELL/ASK? Expt. 1 showed readers use global sentence information and not lexical cues. Expts. 2a-b showed preceding context can compel readers to ‘reverse’ the above patterns, further demonstrating the role of full-blown perspective reasoning.

ABSTRACT. The gender star has gained popularity as a nonbinary gender form in German. However, its opponents claim that its non-orthographic form impairs readability. We conducted an eye-tracking study to test how gender form (star vs. binary capital-I vs. masculine) influences the readability, comprehensibility, and memory of newspaper articles. Participants needed significantly longer to correctly answer comprehension questions after star form texts (vs. capital-I). A fine-grained analysis of eye-movement patterns will be presented at the conference.

ABSTRACT. Trabasso Award Address. This award embodies the spirit of Tom Trabasso. It goes to an outstanding young scholar who received their PhD within the last 10 years and has made a significant contribution to the understanding of discourse processing and text analysis.

ABSTRACT. People can refer to and endorse causes even after those causes have been explicitly retracted. Recent evidence suggests that retractions are more effective when they are provided by expert as compared to non-expert sources, and when sources show no vested interest in the situation as compared to when they do. We attempted to replicate these findings with a new and larger set of materials than has traditionally been employed to study so-called continued influence effects.

ABSTRACT. Source credibility may affect validation, depending on the degree of implausibility. Another likely factor is the accessibility of source information. This reading-time experiment tested combined effects of source credibility, plausibility, and accessibility of source information on validation. Participants read stories with a high- vs. low-credible person making assertions of varying plausibility. The reading-time pattern supported a modulating role of source credibility in validation but not of accessibility of source information.

ABSTRACT. Conspiracy theories are prevalent and widespread. Research has shown that the framing of information and individual differences influence conspiratorial beliefs (Swami et al., 2010; Swami et al., 2013; Douglas, 2019). In the current study, we expand upon these previous findings and investigate the relation between the specific type of language in a text (e.g., literal or figurative) and individual difference measures (e.g., schizotypy, magical ideation, and delusional ideation) and how these factors influence conspiratorial beliefs.

ABSTRACT. Studies aimed at influencing people’s reproductions of ideas often attempt to motivate participants to remember or disregard previously read information. We examined whether explicit encoding instructions asking participants to remember or forget specific information as they read might influence their reproductions of true and false ideas. Overall, participants tended to reproduce what they read to answer subsequent questions. And contrary to expectations, encoding instructions failed to exert a straightforward and beneficial influence on reproduction patterns.

ABSTRACT. Presenting images with textual information can make that information seem more subjectively true, or “truthy,” even if the image is unrelated to the text (Newman et al., 2012; Cardwell et al., 2012). Two experiments (one completed and one underway) investigated truthiness ratings and memory for statements presented alongside images labelled with warnings disclaiming they were “AI-generated” to determine the effect such labels and photos have on the truthiness of textual information.

ABSTRACT. We investigated whether source familiarity impacts accuracy judgments for misconceptions and facts. Two participant samples (undergraduate students, n = 98; MTurk, n = 85) were instructed to rate the accuracy of fact and misconception statements from celebrity or fake name sources. Results showed that misconceptions were rated higher than facts across both samples and revealed an inconsistent effect of name familiarity: The undergraduate participant sample showed an effect, but the MTurk participant sample did not.

ABSTRACT. We investigated the role of source features on memory for textual and source information. Namely, we explored whether source expertise and source frequency (the number of times a source appears in a narrative text) affect recognition (accuracy and speed) of explanations from the source and memory for the source. We found evidence that participants took slightly longer to recognize explanations from frequent sources. We found marginal evidence that source expertise predicts source memory.

ABSTRACT. Seventy-four undergraduates read a series of contradictory claims with source information (author credentials, publication venues). Using a novel “judgment of source memory” paradigm, students rated the likelihood that they would remember sources for each text, after which they completed a source memory test. Finally, students completed a comprehensive intellectual humility survey. Results indicated greater intellectual humility lead to more accurate source metamemory judgments, and less overconfidence. Implications for Internet reading and instruction will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. Scientific literacy is an essential component in scientific thinking and understanding. Education strives towards cultivating students’ scientific literacy, but developing reasoned thinking and understanding about phenomena. This study investigated grade 3 and 4 students’ written responses and patterns of affective engagement and scientific literacy during instruction involving text-based instructional activities about fossils. Results showed that affective engagement increases were aligned with scientific literacy increases.

ABSTRACT. This study examined the relation between bilingual children’s (n = 47; M age = 24.83 months; SD = .80) vocabulary outcomes and caregivers’ verbal and non-verbal input. 10-minute caregiver-child interactions, with book reading, were recorded. Caregivers’ pointing gestures (non-verbal) and different word types (verbal) were coded. Caregivers indicated child words produced (English, Spanish combined). Preliminary multiple regression analyses (n = 24) revealed that caregivers’ pointing gestures positively predicted children’s bilingual vocabularies (p < 0.05).

ABSTRACT. Instructional scaffolds can facilitate students’ learning about complex science issues. Yet, questions remain about whether, and to what degree, scaffolded science learning outcomes vary across student contexts. This study compared student measures of three science learning constructs across developmental levels and geographical regions. Results showed significant differences in science thinking and learning when comparing (a) students in early to late adolescence, and (b) students in the Southeast to those in the Mid-Atlantic United States.

ABSTRACT. The current study examined the effect of a seductive scientific text on liver function and detoxification diets on affective response during reading and recall. Participants in the study rated the seductive text positively than negatively and seductive details were generally better remembered than important content. These initial results are part of a larger experiment examining the effect of seductive details and emotional responses on refutation effects for scientific misconceptions about detoxification diets and the liver.

ABSTRACT. This study presents preliminary data on the effects of drawings on geometric word problem solving with and without irrelevant information in the text. Individual differences in working memory capacity, reading comprehension, and spatial ability are also examined. The results suggest that irrelevant information, reading comprehension, and spatial ability affect student’s performance in geometric task. Further work will better explore the impact of self-drawn and study-provided illustrations on performance.

ABSTRACT. 104 grade 5 students worked in groups of 3 in Collab-ITS – a collaborative platform with online labs that integrate math and writing with science. Students’ interactions in Collab-ITS were logged; voice recording captured groups’ discourse. We selected groups who exhibited specific difficulties with data collection to examine how these data were discussed during their interpretation. Our results shed light on how collaboration can support students’ learning of practices critical to NGSS and Common Core.

ABSTRACT. This study was designed to test the impact of group size on collaborative learning effectiveness. In a real classroom setting, students completed an activity in different size groups. While stronger students did similarly regardless of group size, weaker students especially benefitted from larger group sizes. Discourse analyses revealed that more engagement with content by the whole group, including questioning and amending the proposals that were made by other students, characterized the most successful interactions.

ABSTRACT. Techniques to encourage students’ selection of an effective learning strategy were examined. Before having an opportunity to use a generation strategy, students were randomly assigned to receive persuasive messages about the effectiveness of the strategy with varied supporting evidence and/or scientific explanation about the strategy’s mechanism. Adding these messages may point to an increase in students’ perceived value of the strategy, which may in turn lead to an increase in their selection of the strategy.

ABSTRACT. Although analogical examples can support better understanding of new science concepts, when analogies are included superficially and without explanation they may have unintended negative effects. In this study, simple inclusion of analogies greatly increased the perceived familiarity, interest, and predicted understanding of geology concepts. While increased interest may benefit motivation to learn, higher judgements of familiarity and predicted understanding could produce illusions of understanding when reading texts about these concepts, which will be tested next.

ABSTRACT. Despite its long-known role as a key skill in language acquisition (Feilke, 2012; Shepard, 1997; Vygotsky, 1964), generalizations have received little attention in educational research on text comprehension. By examining potential linguistic and cognitive factors that influence generalization, theoretically plausible assumptions can be derived about the overlap with text comprehension. These assumptions and the underlying hypotheses are derived theoretically. In addition, the study design for empirical validation and the expected results are presented.

ABSTRACT. We use the Dutch pairs of discourse markers "Aan de ene kant...Aan de andere kant" and "Enerzijds...Anderzijds" (both equivalent to ``On the one hand...On the other hand'') to test what form readers' predictions of upcoming discourse dependencies take. A self-paced reading study revealed that readers do generate expectations for upcoming discourse markers, but that these expectations are not specific to a lexical form. These results show comprehenders' flexibility in identifying discourse relations with different markers.

ABSTRACT. We encounter narratives across various mediums, including textual and visual formats. While some research suggests that the comprehension process, including inference generation, plays a vital role in both textual and visual media, few studies have delved deeply into this area. The current study aims to investigate the potential advantages of generating bridging inferences within narrative contexts presented through either text or visual media using eye-tracking.

ABSTRACT. Narrative experiences involve a range of ways in which people engage with a narrative. We comprehend, evaluate, and have a sense of participation in narrative experiences. Few studies have been conducted to understand how these aspects of narrative experience occur. Moreover, few studies have explored how different media affect a range of narrative experiences, such as comprehension, evaluation, and participation. The study explores these issues in the context of think aloud data.

ABSTRACT. We explored the impact of media on coherence building based on the computational analyses of the cohesion of constructed responses recorded while reading texts and picture stories. There was greater lexical cohesion for text than visual narratives, whereas there was greater lexical cohesion for visual narratives than for text. These results are consistent with hypotheses that specify that text-based and visual media have different affordances in supporting coherence building.

ABSTRACT. College students (n = 107) read a short story under instructions to take the perspective of the protagonist or that of a spectator. Reading time was measured. Following reading, participants provided measures of enjoyment and story-world absorption. They also completed a recognition memory test for literary and descriptive story phrases. Initial results indicate that reading took longer under protagonist-perspective instructions and that memory was better for literary than for descriptive phrases in the story.

ABSTRACT. It is unclear how the cerebral hemispheres process inference-related information about text that is emotionally valanced. Participants read texts in which readers inferred either a positive or negative emotional state of a character. Using the divided visual-field paradigm, participants performed a lexical decision task for target words consistent with the inferred character’s emotional state. Results showed facilitation in both hemispheres when generating negatively-valanced character inferences, but no facilitation effects were found for positively-valanced character inferences.