Effects of topic headings on text processing: evidence from adult readers’ eye fixation patterns

Effects of topic headings on the processing of multiple-topic expository texts were examined with the help of readers’ eye fixation patterns. Adult participants read two texts, one in which topic shifts were signaled by topic headings and one in which topic headings were excluded. The presence of to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inLearning and instruction Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 131 - 152
Main Authors Hyönä, Jukka, Lorch, Robert F
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2004
Elsevier
Subjects
Adults
Eye Movements
Finland
Foreign Countries
Reading Comprehension
Reading Processes
Sentences
Finland
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Summary:Effects of topic headings on the processing of multiple-topic expository texts were examined with the help of readers’ eye fixation patterns. Adult participants read two texts, one in which topic shifts were signaled by topic headings and one in which topic headings were excluded. The presence of topic headings facilitated the processing of topic sentences and increased the number of topics mentioned in the text summaries written after reading the texts. The facilitatory effect of headings was reflected both in the fixations made during the first-pass reading as well as in the later look-backs directed to the topic sentences. A framework is outlined to depict the process of reading and comprehending multiple-topic expository texts.
ISSN:0959-4752
1873-3263
DOI:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2004.01.001