Revisiting the self-generation effect in proofreading

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• The self-generation effect typically enhances memory for self-produced information.
• Counterintuitively, this effect may impair proofreading of one's own writing.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the self-generation effect in proofreading.
• Identify individual differences influencing proofreading performance.

Main Methods:

• Two eye-tracking experiments were conducted.
• Experiment 2 employed a studying manipulation to induce overfamiliarity with self-generated text.

Main Results:

• A weak, non-significant self-generation effect was observed.
• Word errors and function word errors were less detectable than non-word and content word errors, respectively.
• Fluid intelligence predicted proofreading success; other cognitive factors did not.
• Increased text fixations and proofreading time correlated with higher error detection rates.

Conclusions:

• The self-generation effect's impact on proofreading is complex and may be influenced by text overfamiliarity.
• Fluid intelligence is a key factor in effective proofreading.
• Proofreading strategies, such as detailed visual scanning, are crucial for error identification.