Reading versus Listening in Children: the effects of extraversion and coding complexity

Abstract

The degree of extraversion of 11‐year‐old children was determined and after excluding children whose reading attainment was below average, the subjects were randomly assigned, within sexes, to the two presentation conditions of listening and reading. They then received a prose passage followed by an immediate questioned test of recall. The details in the prose passage necessary to answer the questions were categorised as simple or complex to represent in verbal and imagery codes. The main finding was of significant interactions between extraversion‐introversion (verbal‐imagery learning style), coding complexity and mode of presentation in their effect on recall. The results were discussed in terms of the probable relationship between extraversion‐introversion and verbal‐imagery learning style. Extraverts were assumed to be verbalisers and introverts imagers. Recall was superior following listening when the details were simple to represent in the learner's preferred code, but best after reading when complex. For the non‐preferred mode the results were reversed.