Abstract
In two experiments, we identified two main strategies followed by hypertext readers in selecting their reading orders. The first consisted in selecting the text semantically related to the previously read section (coherence strategy), and the second in choosing the most interesting text, delaying reading of less interesting sections (interest strategy). Comprehension data revealed that these strategies affected learning differently as a function of the reader’s prior knowledge. For low-knowledge readers, the coherence strategy supported better learning of the content. This effect seems to rely on the improvement of reading order coherence induced by this strategy. By contrast, for intermediateknowledge readers the coherence and the interest strategies benefited comprehension equally. In both cases, learning was supported through the active processing induced by these strategies. Discussion focuses on resolving inconsistencies in the literature concerning whether or not hypertext supports better comprehension than does traditional linear texts.
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This research was conducted thanks to funding from Fulbright Commission Spain and the Spanish Ministerio de Educación to the first author. We thank Danielle McNamara and an anonymous reviewer for insightful comments on an early version of the manuscript.
Note—This article was accepted by the previous editorial team, when Colin M. MacLeod was Editor.
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Salmerón, L., Kintsch, W. & Caãs, J.J. Reading strategies and prior knowledge in learning from hypertext. Memory & Cognition 34, 1157–1171 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193262
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193262