ABSTRACT
A specific feature of text comprehension processing was focused upon: the reader’s feeling of uncertainty with regard to her/his own text reconstruction. This feeling has been proposed as a significant variable in research on metacomprehension (Markman, 1977, 1979; Baker, 1985) and on cognitive integration in comprehension and memory (Bransford & Johnson, 1972; Graesser, 1981; Van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983; Abbott et al., 1985).
The prediction was that if the reader realises that her/his processing is inadequate, transformation and cancellation is more likely to take place in her/his long-term memory, and therefore learning through text will be less effective. A specific procedure was designed to check this hypothesis: (l) poor readers were used as subjects, who would more likely present inadequate text elaboration and blockage of the automatic pilot (Brown, 1975), and hence conscious processing; (2) a ‘natural text was chosen whose sole criterion was that it contained some passage very likely to produce comprehension difficulties and inadequacies; (3) in the initial session an on-line procedure was adopted, in which the subjects were asked to read and repeat short text passages; in this way, concurrent verbal protocols (Ericsson & Simon, 1980, 1984) were collected on comprehension processes; (4) more complete and accurate protocols were pursued solely by reflection responses focused on subjects’ spontaneous protocols found to be ambiguous and incomplete; (5) in a session carried out after a two-week interval, the subjects were given a free recall task and were once again encouraged 154to fill in any gaps by means of reflection responses. The hypothesis was confirmed, since there was a significantly higher number of transformed constructions (forgetting) among the aware non-comprehenders than among the unaware non-comprehenders.
