Abstract
We investigated the relationship between activities performed while reading multiple texts and the integration of information from the texts. Participants sequentially read two complementary texts on the same topic while simultaneously performing a think-aloud task. The representation of the texts by the readers was assessed by (1) a sorting task, conducted before and after reading; (2) rating the relationship between pairs of terms in the texts; (3) summarizing the texts, and (4) completing a comprehension test. Study 1 indicated that readers who integrated the two texts attended to important parts of each text, made inferences, referred to the other text, and considered both texts in their representations. Participants who did not integrate the texts referred less to relevant parts of the texts, spoke in terms of impressions and associations, and made separate representations for each text. In Study 2, ten readers read the two texts twice. Our findings indicated that rereading helped develop an integrated comprehension. Moreover, readers who did not sufficiently comprehend the texts failed to make inferences during the first reading. These results suggest that, in general, performing elaborative activities while reading relevant sections of texts is related to developing integrated information about complementary texts.
