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Effects of elaborations in expository texts: Large time cost, reduced attention and lower memory for main ideas

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2019, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
Elaborations that describe, illustrate and explain main ideas are commonly included in textbook chapters, increasing the length of these chapters. The current study investigated if the cost in additional reading time that these elaborations impose is outweighed by benefits to memory for main ideas. Given that elaborations sometimes fail to produce memory benefits, the current study also investigated if the reason is that less time is spent reading main ideas sentences in elaborated versus unelaborated texts. In two experiments, participants read a textbook passage with just the main ideas or with these main ideas and elaborations. In a second session two days later, participants completed tests of their memory for the main ideas. Conceptually replicating previous research, elaborations did not provide a memory benefit commensurate with the time cost they imposed. Results also indicated that the lack of benefit is at least partially attributable to less time spent on main ideas for the elaborated versus unelaborated text. To further investigate why students spent less time on main idea sentences, Experiment 2 provided evidence that this difference may be due to difficulty discriminating main ideas from elaborations while reading. In sum, elaborations in textbooks may impair memory for main ideas due to less time spent on these main ideas despite the large overall time cost imposed; thus elaborated texts can be less effective than unelaborated texts.
Katherine Rawson, Dr. (Advisor)
John Dunlosky, Dr. (Committee Member)
Clarissa Thompson, Dr. (Committee Member)
Jeffrey Ciesla, Dr. (Committee Member)
54 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Daley, N. M. (2019). Effects of elaborations in expository texts: Large time cost, reduced attention and lower memory for main ideas [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1558525094462172

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Daley, Nola. Effects of elaborations in expository texts: Large time cost, reduced attention and lower memory for main ideas. 2019. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1558525094462172.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Daley, Nola. "Effects of elaborations in expository texts: Large time cost, reduced attention and lower memory for main ideas." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1558525094462172

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)