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Effects of a high information-processing load on the writing process and the story written

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Suzanna L. Penningroth and
Sheldon Rosenberg
Suzanna L. Penningroth*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Sheldon Rosenberg
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
*
Suzanna L. Penningroth, Department of Psychology (m/c 285); University of Illinois, 1009 Behavioral Sciences Building, 1007 Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60607
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test how information-processing load affects the writing process (through thinking-aloud reports) and the story written. Information-processing load was increased by having subjects write to an ending sentence with more content constraints. Secondary reaction times were synchronized with thinking-aloud statements to yield a measure of cognitive effort for the components of the writing process and for the overall task. A high information-processing load led to lower rated story coherence, but not to lower rated quality. A high load did not increase overall cognitive effort, but changed the distribution of processing time, with more reviewing earlier. Results suggest that a high information-processing load altered the distribution of writing processes, which resulted in lower story coherence.

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Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , April 1995, pp. 189 - 210
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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