The aim of this study was to investigate the text-level comprehension demands, and in particular inference making, of the CBM-Maze task and the effects of text types, narrative versus expository,...Show moreThe aim of this study was to investigate the text-level comprehension demands, and in particular inference making, of the CBM-Maze task and the effects of text types, narrative versus expository, on the CBM-Maze task score. To identify the text-level comprehension demands of the CBM-Maze task, this study used an altered version: the scrambled Maze task. Within the scrambled version of the Maze task, sentence order was randomized to affect the readers ability to make inferences. All 138 participants completed four Maze tasks, two standard and two scrambled versions, consisting of either four narrative or four expository texts. Scores on the scrambled version of the Maze task were compared to scores on the standard version and scores on Maze tasks consisting of narrative texts were compared to scores on Maze tasks consisting of expository texts. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses were conducted to compare the score on the CBM-Maze tasks to scores of Dutch reading assessments, the CITO Begrijpend Lezen and the CITO Drie-Minuten-Toets. The results show that the CBM-Maze task demands the reader to use higher-level comprehension skills. This adds to the results of previous research that identified the sentence-level comprehension demands of the CBM-Maze task. These results suggest that the CBM-Maze task can be used by teachers to establish the readers current level and development of reading comprehension. Although participants were expected to score lower on CBM-Maze tasks consisting of expository texts, no effects of text type were found. Limitations of the study and implications of the CBM-Maze task in education are discussed.Show less
Leesvaardigheid is van belang om te kunnen functioneren in de hedendaagse maatschappij. Het is echter gebleken dat veel studenten moeite hebben met tekstbegrip. Het doel van deze studie is te...Show moreLeesvaardigheid is van belang om te kunnen functioneren in de hedendaagse maatschappij. Het is echter gebleken dat veel studenten moeite hebben met tekstbegrip. Het doel van deze studie is te onderzoeken of er een verband bestaat tussen dopaminetoediening en de leesvaardigheid van studenten met verschillende DRD4-genotypen. Daarnaast is onderzocht of er differentiële ontvankelijkheid lijkt te bestaan met betrekking tot het DRD4-genotype. Aan de studie namen zeven rechtshandige, vrouwelijke studenten met een gemiddelde leeftijd van 20,43 jaar deel. Deze studenten kregen één keer na toediening van Sinemet, wat dopamine bevat, en één keer na toediening van een placebo tekstfragmenten die pseudo-woorden bevatten te lezen. Achteraf maakten zij tekstbegrip- en woordenschattaken. Er is geen verschil gevonden tussen de scores voor tekstbegrip en expressieve en receptieve woordenschat na toediening van Sinemet en het placebo. Ook bleken de verschilscores op de tekstbegrip- en woordenschattaken tussen de Sinemet-conditie en de placebo-conditie van dragers van het DRD4-7R allel en dragers van andere varianten van het DRD4-gen niet van elkaar te verschillen. Er lijkt dus geen relatie te bestaan tussen het kunstmatig verhogen van de dopamineafgifte en de leesvaardigheid van studenten, ook lijkt er bij hen geen sprake te zijn van differentiële ontvankelijkheid met betrekking tot het DRD4-genotype. De analyses moeten echter opnieuw worden uitgevoerd op de data van een grotere steekproef voor een betrouwbaarder resultaat. Vervolgonderzoek moet zich richten op het effect van het daadwerkelijk geven van feedback en van de verschillende aspecten van feedback op leesvaardigheid.Show less
Previous research has shown that empathy influences reading comprehension, and the current research builds further on these results. It examines whether emotional stories lead to more text...Show morePrevious research has shown that empathy influences reading comprehension, and the current research builds further on these results. It examines whether emotional stories lead to more text comprehension than neutral stories; whether empathy influences text comprehension of stories that tend to elicit emotion and; whether working memory moderates this relation. Text comprehension is measured during reading (online processes) and after the reading is finished (offline processes). The stories are read by 54 Psychology- and Pedagogical Sciences students, by the use of a self-paced reading paradigm. After the reading was finished, all participants answered several questions about the texts. They also filled in two questionnaires regarding their levels of empathy and they made a working memory test. The analyses have shown that, in accordance with the hypothesis, emotional stories result in more online and offline text comprehension. Contrary to the second hypothesis, empathy does not have a significant effect on online and offline text comprehension of emotional stories. Working memory seems to moderate the relation between empathy and text comprehension of emotional stories, which corresponds to the third hypothesis. The overall conclusion is that emotional stories are read faster than neutral stories, but the remaining question is whether shorter reading times reflect better text comprehension. Besides that, the role of empathy is still doubtful, because the effects differ between online and offline text comprehension and it also seems to depend on working memory.Show less
