Repetition Effects From Paraphrased Text: Evidence for an Integrated Representation Model of Text Representation

Abstract

The effect of text repetition on reading performance and memory was examined. Participants read a set of short passages, each twice in succession. The second reading was either the same text or a paraphrased version of the original text. Both same texts and paraphrased texts were read faster during the second reading, but the repetition effect was slightly smaller for paraphrased texts. This was reflected by changes in global measures of reading performance (e.g., reduced reading time) and by reduced fixation durations on individual words. The results are consistent with a model of text repetition effects in which wording is represented in an abstract, context-independent manner, whereas the situation described by the text is represented in an episodic, context-dependent manner