Modeling Reader and Text Interactions During Narrative Comprehension: A Test of the Lexical Quality Hypothesis

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine predictions derived from the Lexical Quality Hypothesis regarding relations among word decoding, working-memory capacity, and the ability to integrate new concepts into a developing discourse representation. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to quantify the effects of three text properties (length, frequency, and number of new concepts) on reading times of focal and spillover sentences, with variance in those effects estimated as a function of individual difference factors (decoding, vocabulary, print exposure, and working-memory capacity). The analysis revealed complex, cross-level interactions that complement the Lexical Quality Hypothesis.

Acknowledgments

The research reported in this article was supported by a National Institutes of Health grant to Debra L. Long (R01HD048914). Our thanks to Keith Widaman who provided helpful advice regarding the data analyses.

Notes

¹ The model presented here is based on the data of 101 participants. Comprehension question data were recorded for 87 of these participants. The model was also run with the subset of participants for whom both comprehension question data and individual differences measures were recorded. This model produced parameter estimates that were nearly exactly the same as those presented in Tables 5 and 6.