Message cues and narrative comprehension: A developmental study

Abstract

Two processes are advanced describing the relationship between message behaviors and narrative comprehension. The processes differ in terms of the likelihood that specific interpretations will be drawn given the presence of message cues. To investigate these processes, children listened to story segments varying in the number of cues inviting specific interpretations. Narrative comprehension was assessed by obtaining children's perceptions of story ending and ratings of the plausibility of different story outcomes. In general, the cues biased the children toward drawing a particular representation. However, fifth graders delayed choosing a representation when task requirements did not mandate a selection. It was speculated that a sophisticated comprehension strategy might be to consider message cues as sources of information for reducing the number of plausible interpretations.

Key concepts:

• Comprehension
• message behaviors
• children's communication competence