Although the role of working memory in sentence comprehension has received substantial attention, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between general, nonverbal working memory (WM) and sentence parsing (SP) in normal English-speaking adults. Accuracy and reaction times were…

This research investigated the extent and nature of the informational support that enables young children to understand pictures as symbols. Two experiments were conducted using an object-retrieval task. The first experiment varied the amount (complete and no instructions) and kind of information (intended function of the symbol and…

The authors examined the relationships between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing in 42 Grade 7 students. The goal was to quantify the sensitivity of visual attention and magnocellular visual processing as concomitants of poor reading comprehension in the absence of either vision therapy or cognitive…

This article presents the authors' response to McVee, Dunsmore, and Gavelek's "Schema Theory Revisited." In "Schema Theory Revisited," McVee, Dunsmore, and Gavelek (2005) proposed a rearticulation of schema theory intended to encompass the ideas that schemata and other cognitive processes are embodied, that knowledge is situated in the transaction…

Recent studies on schema theory and other concepts related to reading comprehension are discussed in this paper. Noting that the psycholinguistic model of reading views reading as a process of predicting meaning based on the reader's prior knowledge of language, the paper describes recent research that has led to a definition of reading…

The final report and a general summary of a research project that assessed the developmental differences in children's use of constructive reading strategies are presented in this paper. The five chapters of the final report offer descriptions of separate studies conducted in the following areas: children's metacognitive knowledge about reading;…

Research is reported which was directed toward characterizing memory representations which underlie inference intrusions in recall. (Author/RM)

A study is reported investigating the question whether inferences made from sentences occur immediately in comprehension or are in part a function of the way material from sentences is stored in memory. (Author/RM)

A study investigated the conditions and processes that stimulate questions in adults. During the experiment, the amount of effort required to assimilate a prose text was manipulated and the influence of this factor on the number of questions asked as well as on the capacity of retaining information was examined. This was done by activating…

Since questions are used in a wide variety of ways to test comprehension, clarify communication, and determine levels of proficiency, it is important to be aware of the factors that influence how an individual answers a question. The influence on comprehension of vocabulary, syntax, and material organization has been studied and this influence…

READING AND THINKING ARE NOT ALWAYS DISTINCT FROM EACH OTHER, ALTHOUGH EACH REPRESENTS DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS AND USES. THE PROBLEM IS NOT WHETHER THE TWO ARE SYNONYMOUS, BUT HOW MUCH TEACHERS SHOULD TELL STUDENTS AND HOW MUCH STUDENTS SHOULD DISCOVER FOR THEMSELVES. RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT CHILDREN ARE CAPABLE OF APPLYING ELEMENTARY SKILLS OF…

A series of experimental and theoretical investigations of text inference were conducted. One applied a theory of inferable text cohesion to the devising of text structure revisions that assist comprehension and memory. Since only modest success was achieved, the next three projects went beyond text revision to the use of adjunct outlines,…

Using reaction time, the interaction between stimulus sentences requiring varying degrees of inferential activity and tasks requiring different levels of cognitive processing is investigated. Effects of thematic and nonthematic contexts are also examined. Results suggest that analyses of processing time may provide useful insights into the…

To identify cognitive process concomitants of reading comprehension, a Structure of Intellect (SOI) interpretation is proposed. (Author)

Comprehension involves the relationship of a child's knowledge and the organization of that knowledge as it relates to the material that he reads. (JD)