ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the relationships of motivational and cognitive processes in reading with special reference to instructional contexts. The hypothesis is proposed that motivations are differentially associated with diverse cognitions depending on the characteristics of the motivational and cognitive processes involved. The chapter also discusses the cognitive processes shown in empirical research to be contributing to text and multiple-text comprehension. Lower-order cognitive reading processes are often shown to become automated as students gain reading proficiency. Textual characteristics influence the complexity of the cognitive system used to process the stimulus. The chapter outlines a set of dimensions that differentiate lower-order processes from the higher-order processes in the cognitive system of reading. Multiple-text comprehension may be distinguished from complex text comprehension by a range of textual, processing, and outcome characteristics, which are addressed more fully by Braten, Braasch, and Salmeron. The relative roles of different motivations contributing to multiple-text comprehension have been addressed.
