Validating information during reading: the effect of recency. (29th May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guéraud, Sabine; Walsh, Erinn K.; Cook, Anne E.; O'Brien, Edward J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of research in reading. Volume 41(2018)Supplement 1
• Page Start: S85
• Page End: S101
• Publication Date: 2018-05-29
• Subjects: Reading -- Research -- Periodicals; Reading -- Periodicals; 418.4
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-9817.12244
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0141-0423

Abstract

Abstract : Previous studies demonstrated that outdated information may be reactivated and disrupt subsequent processing of newly encoded information. However, previous studies focused on the impact of outdated information that had been backgrounded in memory. The present experiments examined the immediate influence of outdated information; backgrounding information was reduced so that both outdated and current protagonist characteristics were active in memory when readers encountered content that was inconsistent with the outdated information. In Experiments 1 and 2, the order of introduction of outdated and current information was varied; across the two experiments, the elaboration of the current information was also manipulated. When both current and outdated information are still active in memory, only the most recent information influenced comprehension; this was true regardless of whether it was elaborated. These results inform the conditions under which outdated information influences comprehension and are interpreted within the context of the RI‐Val model of comprehension. Highlights: What is already known about this topic Previous studies have demonstrated that whether outdated information influences the validation process depends on how quickly readers gain access to this information (e.g., O'Brien, Cook, & Guéraud, 2010 ; O'Brien, Rizzella, Albrecht, & Halleran, 1998 ); that is, validation is mediated by factors that affect the reactivation process (Cook & O'Brien, 2014 ). When information has been backgrounded in memory (i.e., when outdated information is not currently active), the order in which updated versus outdated information occurred does not differentially impact the validation process (Guéraud, Harmon, & Peracchi, 2005 ). What this paper adds Previous research has focused on how outdated information that had been backgrounded in memory was subsequently reactivated and influenced validation. However, factors that directly influence the validation process remain unknown. In this set of studies, we explored whether memory factors such as elaboration and recency of presentation of information directly influence validation when the information in question is already active in memory, that is, when outdated information co‐occurred in memory with updated, current information. Results demonstrated that when current and outdated information co‐occur in memory, only the most recent information impacts the validation process (Experiment 1); elaborating on the current information did not override this effect (Experiment 2). Implications for theory This research adds to the overall understanding of how the contents of active memory influence the validation process.