TY - JOUR
T1 - Habitual reading biases in the allocation of study time
AU - Ariel, Robert
AU - Al-Harthy, Ibrahim S.
AU - Was, Christopher A.
AU - Dunlosky, John
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a Collaborative Award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative in Bridging Brain, Mind and Behavior.
PY - 2011/10
Y1 - 2011/10
N2 - Item order can bias learners' study decisions and undermine the use of more effective allocation strategies, such as allocating study time to items in one's region of proximal learning. In two experiments, we evaluated whether the influence of item order on study decisions reflects habitual responding based on a reading bias. We manipulated the order in which relatively easy, moderately difficult, and difficult items were presented from left to right on a computer screen and examined selection preference as a function of item order and item difficulty. Experiment 1a was conducted with native Arabic readers and in Arabic, and Experiment 1b was conducted with native English readers and in English. Students from both cultures prioritized items for study in the reading order of their native language: Arabic readers selected items for study in a right-to-left fashion, whereas English readers largely selected items from left to right. In Experiment 2, native English readers completed the same task as participants in Experiment 1b, but for some participants, lines of text were rotated upside down to encourage them to read from right to left. Participants who read upside-down text were more likely to first select items on the right side of an array than were participants who studied right-side-up text. These results indicate that reading habits can bias learners' study decisions and can undermine agenda-based regulation.
AB - Item order can bias learners' study decisions and undermine the use of more effective allocation strategies, such as allocating study time to items in one's region of proximal learning. In two experiments, we evaluated whether the influence of item order on study decisions reflects habitual responding based on a reading bias. We manipulated the order in which relatively easy, moderately difficult, and difficult items were presented from left to right on a computer screen and examined selection preference as a function of item order and item difficulty. Experiment 1a was conducted with native Arabic readers and in Arabic, and Experiment 1b was conducted with native English readers and in English. Students from both cultures prioritized items for study in the reading order of their native language: Arabic readers selected items for study in a right-to-left fashion, whereas English readers largely selected items from left to right. In Experiment 2, native English readers completed the same task as participants in Experiment 1b, but for some participants, lines of text were rotated upside down to encourage them to read from right to left. Participants who read upside-down text were more likely to first select items on the right side of an array than were participants who studied right-side-up text. These results indicate that reading habits can bias learners' study decisions and can undermine agenda-based regulation.
KW - Metacognition
KW - Self-regulated study
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U2 - 10.3758/s13423-011-0128-3
DO - 10.3758/s13423-011-0128-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 21735331
AN - SCOPUS:80053107281
SN - 1069-9384
VL - 18
SP - 1015
EP - 1021
JO - Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
JF - Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
IS - 5
ER -