ERIC Number: EJ1333051
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-0553
EISSN: N/A
The Contribution of Text Characteristics to Reading Comprehension: Investigating the Influence of Text Emotionality
Pickren, Sage E.; Stacy, Maria; Del Tufo, Stephanie N.; Spencer, Mercedes; Cutting, Laurie E.
Reading Research Quarterly, v57 n2 p649-667 Apr-Jun 2022
In the current study, we examined relations between text features (e.g., word concreteness, referential cohesion) and reading comprehension using multilevel logistic models. The sample was 158 native English-speaking students between 8 years, 8 months and 11 years, 2 months of age with a wide range of reading ability. In line with the simple view of reading, decoding ability and language comprehension were associated with reading comprehension performance. Text characteristics, including indices of word frequency, number of pronouns, word concreteness, and deep cohesion, also predicted unique variance in reading comprehension performance over and above the simple view's components. Additionally, the emotional charge of text (i.e., lexical ratings of arousal) predicted reading comprehension beyond traditional person-level and text-based characteristics. These findings add to a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that it is important to consider emotional charge in addition to person-level and text-based characteristics to better understand reading comprehension performance.
Descriptors: Reading Comprehension, Reader Text Relationship, Connected Discourse, Reading Ability, Decoding (Reading), Word Frequency, Form Classes (Languages), Arousal Patterns, Predictor Variables, Elementary School Students, Semantics
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 3RO1HD04407314S1; P20HD075443; P50HD103537; R01HD044073; R01HD067254; R37HD095519