Inference generation in text comprehension among children and adults / A geraÃÃo de inferÃncias na compreensÃo de textos em adultos e crianÃas

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2004

RESUMO

The present study aimed to investigate inference generation in text comprehension among children and adults with different levels of schooling (university students and adults with little education), particularly examining the awareness of the inference construction process based on research by Mahon (2002). Three groups of participants were examined: 20 adults with low levels of schooling belonging to an adult education program and corresponding to the 3rd and 4th grades of elementary education; 20 university students; and 20 children between the ages of 9 and 10 years in the 3rd grade of elementary school. The investigation consisted of two steps: a Sound Decoding Task and a Comprehension Task. The goal of the sound task was to exclude participants from the sample that exhibited de-codification difficulties that could compromise their text comprehension. The participants that did not exhibit limitations of this sort took part in the study. The Comprehension Task consisted of the reading of a text using the online methodology proposed by Mahon (2002), characterized by interruptions in predetermined parts. The text was divided into seven parts. After the reading of each part, different types of inferential questions were asked: causal questions, questions on the characterâs state and prediction questions. Immediately after the participant responded to each question, the examiner asked complementary questions with the aim of determining if the reader was able to identify and explain the basis for the responses given to the inferential questions. The data were analyzed in accordance with the different types of responses in regards to both the inferential questions and the complementary questions. Comparisons were made between the three groups, as well as between the different types of inferential questions (causal, character state and prediction). In general terms, regarding both the inferential and complementary questions, it was observed that adults with little education exhibited a rather similar pattern of results as the 3rd grade children, including similar difficulties in text comprehension. The university students did not exhibit this same pattern, presenting a better performance and a greater capacity to identify and explain the basis of their inferences. In regards to this inferential basis, it was observed that both the children and adults with little schooling tended to identify intra-textual information (contained within the text) as the origin of their inferences instead of extra-textual information (based on the readerâs knowledge of the world). The university students, however, utilized more extra-textual than intratextual information as the basis of their inferences. These data indicate that schooling is a more important factor in text comprehension than age. Schooling favors both the establishment of inferences and the awareness of inference generation. The discussions derived from this study focus on relevant aspects of text comprehension among adults, especially those with low levels of schooling

ASSUNTO(S)

psicologia cognitiva â compreensÃo de textos narrativos textos narrativos â compreensÃo â geraÃÃo de inferÃncias (metodologia on-line) inference generation compreensÃo de textos (aprendizagem) â identificaÃÃo â adultos e crianÃas adults psicologia cognitiva children

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