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The effect of disfluency on mind wandering during text comprehension
Myrthe Faber1, Caitlin Mills2, Kristopher Kopp2,3
1Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, 224 Haggar Hall, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA. mfaber@nd.edu.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|September 8, 2016
Summary
Reading difficult texts can cause mind wandering (MW), hindering comprehension. Presenting text in a perceptually disfluent font reduced MW and indirectly improved comprehension by enhancing attention, without changing the text content.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Reading Comprehension
- Attention Studies
Background:
- Attentional lapses, or mind wandering (MW), during reading are negatively correlated with text comprehension.
- Textual difficulty increases MW by impeding mental model construction and suppressing off-task thoughts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if perceptual disfluency can reduce MW without altering text content.
- To explore the relationship between reading disfluency, attention, and comprehension.
Main Methods:
- Participants read instructional texts on scientific research methods presented in either a fluent (Arial) or disfluent typeface.
- Mind wandering frequency and text comprehension were measured for both conditions.
Main Results:
- Mind wandering (MW) was significantly less frequent when participants read the disfluent text compared to the fluent text.
- No significant differences in text comprehension were found between the fluent and disfluent groups.
- An indirect effect of disfluency on comprehension through MW was observed, indicating enhanced attention.
Conclusions:
- Perceptual disfluency can reduce mind wandering during reading.
- Reading disfluency may enhance comprehension by increasing attentional engagement.
- Processing difficulty and attention interact to influence reading comprehension outcomes.
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