Abstract

In this investigation, we examine the contribution of intrinsic content density (ICD) to measures of expository text processing. In Studies 1 and 2, the factor structure of select text density metrics was examined and refined using two text samples (Ns = 150) randomly selected from an expository text corpus. Scores on the ICD measure based on the entire text sample (N = 300) explained unique variance in readability and text easability. In Study 3, ICD predicted adults’ text ratings of interest and ease of comprehension above and beyond established easability measures. Participants’ text familiarity moderated the relation between ICD and ease of comprehension, revealing a density-facilitative effect for participants more familiar with the text content. Finally, in Study 4, measures of text difficulty, processing, and comprehension were obtained from adult readers using 10 researcher-constructed science texts; evidence of descriptive density effects on each measure was obtained. Implications for future research are discussed.

摘要

在这项调查中，我们检查了内在内容密度 (ICD) 对说明性文本处理措施的贡献。在研究 1 和 2 中，使用从说明性文本语料库中随机选择的两个文本样本 ( N s = 150)检查和改进了选定文本密度指标的因子结构。基于整个文本样本 ( N = 300) 解释了可读性和文本易读性的独特差异。在研究 3 中，ICD 预测了成人对文本的兴趣和易理解程度，超出了既定的易理解程度。参与者对文本的熟悉程度调节了 ICD 和易理解性之间的关系，揭示了对更熟悉文本内容的参与者的密度促进效应。最后，在研究 4 中，使用 10 篇研究人员构建的科学文本，从成人读者那里获得文本难度、处理和理解的量度；获得了对每个度量的描述性密度影响的证据。讨论了对未来研究的影响。