The Reverse Effect of an Attempt to Shape Reader Awareness

Abstract

In a previous study, Marton et al. (1992) asked Hungarian and Swedish secondary school students to read Franz Kafka's parable Before the Law several times. Rereading the text several times did not in itself improve or alter the students’ understanding of it. We found, however, that a more complex and advanced way of understanding the text was highly correlated with a certain way of reading; that is, in the use of a reflective variation. In order to determine whether it is possible to elicit reflective variation in readers and affect their awareness of alternative ways of understanding the parable, by giving explicit instructions, we conducted a new experiment in Sweden. The procedure for this experiment was designed with the aim of eliciting a variational reading and a more advanced understanding of the text. This procedure, however, created a strong reverse effect. Paradoxically, the variation in the readers’ understanding of Kafka's parable was dramatically reduced. The attempt to encourage readers to consider different interpretive options thus seemed to have enhanced the dominance of the most frequent form of understanding.