Factors affecting the failure to use world knowledge to complete an otherwise incomplete linear ordering was examined. Failure persisted after three repetitions was unaffected by order of presentation or nature of test procedure. Performance was affected by overall amounts of known and new information and by their relation. (Author/RD)

Paragraph recall was easier if prior information, presented as elaborations of the paragraph sentences, was precise, rather than irrelevant or imprecise. Precise information also permitted quick and efficient elaboration of new information. (Author/CP)

In secondary-task reading experiments, easy text filled cognitive capacity more completely than difficult text. A cognitive interpretation is that, in reading easy passages, the cognitive processors are full. But in difficult passages, frequent breakdowns in comprehension temporarily empty processor spaces, leaving cognitive capacity for the…