Reading comprehension and its relationship with working memory capacity when reading horizontally scrolling text

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Digital Reading Technologies

Background:

• Horizontally scrolling text is common on digital displays.
• This format presents unique reading challenges due to conflicting eye movements.
• Difficulty in tracking text and returning to previous content may impact comprehension.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare reading comprehension performance between horizontally scrolling and static multi-line text formats.
• To investigate the effects of scrolling speed on reading comprehension.
• To explore the role of working memory capacity in scrolling text comprehension.

Main Methods:

• A sustained reading comprehension task was employed.
• Participants read text presented in both horizontally scrolling and static multi-line formats.
• Performance was evaluated based on literal and inferential question answering.

Main Results:

• Literal reading comprehension was largely maintained with scrolling text.
• Small decrements in comprehension were observed at faster scrolling rates.
• Answering inferential questions was significantly more difficult with scrolling text.
• Increased difficulty was noted in returning to previously read text.

Conclusions:

• Horizontally scrolling text can impair in-depth reading comprehension, particularly for inferential tasks.
• Display speed and working memory capacity influence the effectiveness of scrolling text.
• Findings have implications for digital media design and optimal reading conditions.