Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2025

Assessing the Multiple Dimensions of Engagement to Characterize Learning: A Neurophysiological Perspective
Published on: July 1, 2015
Text-based and memory-based metrics of cognitive coupling
1Department of Psychology, University of Alberta.
None:
The present study was an investigation of the relation between cognitive coupling, a correlation between text difficulty and reading time, and other measures of mind wandering during reading. To measure cognitive coupling, we manipulated the text difficulty of individual sentences. Because mind wandering may shift attention away from the text, we predicted a cognitive coupling interaction, that is, that the effect of difficulty on processing time should be less when readers are off task. We also manipulated the consistency of a target sentence's content with a prior information. Analogous to the text-based cognitive coupling, we predicted an interaction of consistency with task focus: The impact of this consistency should be less noticeable when readers are off task. The results demonstrated the predicted text-based cognitive-coupling effect: There was less of an effect of text difficulty when readers reported being off task. However, there was no such interaction between consistency and task focus. We conclude that the consistency effect may depend on the relatively automatic activation of prior information rather than requiring consciously retrieving related information from memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
More Related Videos
16:23Automated, Quantitative Cognitive/Behavioral Screening of Mice: For Genetics, Pharmacology, Animal Cognition and Undergraduate Instruction
Published on: February 26, 2014
06:49Using Eye Movements to Evaluate the Cognitive Processes Involved in Text Comprehension
Published on: January 10, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Learning
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Metacognition
Language and Cognition
Measures of Intelligence
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this;...
Working Memory
Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...