Abstract
In this individual-differences study, we evaluated the prevalent view that relocating information in a previously read text depends primarily on visuospatial abilities. Participants read a text, answered fillin-the-blank test questions, and identified which page and line in the original text contained the sentence in each question. They also completed a battery of verbal and visuospatial tasks. Performance on verbal tasks was highly predictive of the accuracy of both page and line identifications, and this correlation remained significant even after we controlled for performance on visuospatial tasks. In contrast, performance on visuospatial tasks was not predictive of either page or line identification accuracy, once verbal abilities were controlled for. These results suggest an important role for verbal abilities in relocation of text information and a lesser role for visuospatial abilities than has previously been assumed.
Article PDF
References
Baccino, T., &Pynte, J. (1994). Spatial coding and discourse models during text reading.Language & Cognitive Processes,9, 143–155.
Baccino, T., &Pynte, J. (1998). Spatial encoding and referential processing during reading.European Psychologist,3, 51–61.
Brown, J. I., Bennett, J. M., &Hanna, G. (1981).Nelson-Denny reading test. Chicago: Riverside.
Carroll, J. B. (1993).Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factoranalytic studies. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Christie, J. M., &Just, M. A. (1976). Remembering the location and content of sentences in a prose passage.Journal of Educational Psychology,68, 702–710.
Daneman, M., &Carpenter, P. A. (1980). Individual differences in working memory and reading.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,19, 450–466.
Ekstrom, R. B., French, J. W., Harman, H. H., &Derman, D. (1976).Kit of factor-referenced cognitive tests. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
Fischer, M. H. (1999). Memory for word locations in reading.Memory,7, 79–116.
Fischer, M. H. (2000). Perceiving spatial attributes of print. In A. Kennedy, R. Radach, D. Heller, & J. Pynte (Eds.),Reading as a perceptual process (pp. 89–117). New York: Elsevier.
Frazier, L., &Rayner, K. (1982). Making and correcting errors during sentence comprehension: Eye movements in the analysis of structurally ambiguous sentences.Cognitive Psychology,14, 178–210.
Kennedy, A., &Murray, W. S. (1987). Spatial coordinates and reading: Comments on Monk (1985).Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,39A, 649–656.
Klusewitz, M. A., &Lorch, R. F., Jr. (2000). Effects of headings and familiarity with a text on strategies for searching a text.Memory & Cognition,28, 667–676.
Lovelace, E. A., &Southall, S. D. (1983). Memory for words in prose and their locations on the page.Memory & Cognition,11, 429–434.
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Rettinger, D. A., Shah, P., &Hegarty, M. (2001). How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent variable analysis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,130, 621–640.
Rothkopf, E. Z. (1971). Incidental memory for location of information in text.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,10, 608–613.
Shah, P., &Miyake, A. (1996). The separability of working memory resources for spatial thinking and language processing: An individual differences approach.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,125, 4–27.
Spreen, O., &Strauss, E. (1998).A compendium of neuropsychological tests (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Zabrucky, K., &Commander, N. E. (1993). Rereading to understand: The role of text coherence and reader proficiency.Contemporary Educational Psychology,18, 442–454.
Zechmeister, E. B., &McKillip, J. (1972). Recall of place on the page.Journal of Educational Psychology,63, 446–453.
Zechmeister, E. B., McKillip, J., Pasko, S., &Bespalec, D. (1975). Visual memory for place on the page.Journal of General Psychology,92, 43–52.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to the first author. We thank Mariarosa Gasbarro and Matt Jordan for assistance in data collection and scoring and Mike Emerson, John Dunlosky, and Jim Van Overschelde for helpful discussions and comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rawson, K.A., Miyake, A. Does relocating information in text depend on verbal or visuospatial abilities? An individual-differences analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 9, 801–806 (2002). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196338
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196338