Reading with induced worry: The role of physiological self‐regulation and working memory updating in text comprehension

Background. An interplay of emotional and cognitive aspects underlies academic performance. We focused on the contribution of such interplay to text comprehension. Aims. We investigated the effect of worry on comprehension and the role of two potential moderators of this effect: physiological self-regulation as resting heart rate variability (HRV) and working memory updating. Sample. Eighty-two seventh graders were involved in a quasi-experimental design. Methods. Students read an informational text in one of two reading conditions: to read for themselves to know more (n = 46; low-worry condition) or to gain the highest score in a ranking (n = 36; high-worry condition). Students’ resting HRV was recorded while watching a video of a natural scenario. The executive function of working memory updating was also assessed. After reading, students completed a comprehension task. Results. Findings revealed the moderating role of HRV in the relationship between induced worry and text comprehension. In the high-worry condition, students with higher resting HRV performed better than students who read under the same instructions but had lower HRV. In contrast, in the low-worry condition, students with higher resting HRV showed a lower performance as compared to students with lower HRV. Finally, working memory updating was positively related to text comprehension. Conclusions. Our findings indicate that the cognitive component of anxiety, that is, worry, plays a role in performing a fundamental learning activity like text comprehension. The importance of physiological self-regulation emerges clearly. In a condition of high worry, higher ability to regulate emotions and thoughts acts as a protective factor

Anxiety and social support as predictors of student academic motivation during the COVID-19

In this study we examined whether parents’ perceptions of students’ anxiety as well as perceived support from both teachers and classmates were predictive of changes in students’ academic motivation during the first wave of COVID-19. To this end, we used a retrospective pretest-posttest design together with a latent change score model to analyze our data. From April to May of 2020, 394 Portuguese parents of students in grades 1–9 participated in this study. Our results showed that students’ anxiety and teachers’ social support, as perceived by parents, were highly significant predictors of academic motivation changes. Specifically, we found a negative effect of anxiety and a positive effect of teachers’ social support on students’ academic motivation. Our results did not show, however, a significant predictive role of classmates’ social support. This study provides an important contribution to further understand the intrapersonal and interpersonal factors that are associated with the decline of students’ academic motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pivotal role of teachers in sustaining students’ academic motivation and other relevant educational implications for the ongoing pandemic are discussed

The Role of Inhibition in Conceptual Learning from Refutation and Standard Expository Texts

conceptual change, expository text, inhibition, refutation text, science learning

Webpage reading: Psychophysiological correlates of emotional arousal and regulation predict multiple-text comprehension

This study aimed to investigate psychophysiological responses while reading multiple webpages on a debated topic. We measured heart rate (HR) as an index of emotional arousal and heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. Forty-seven lower secondary school students in grade 7 read four webpages varying for reliability and position on the topic of the potential health risks associated with the use of mobile phones, while their cardiac activity was registered. Post-reading performance of multiple-text comprehension at intertextual level was measured by an essay, which was coded for sourcing (reference to the source information and connection with its content) and argumentation on the topic. Results showed that the type of webpage did not differentiate HR and HRV while reading. However, HR and HRV predicted comprehension across texts as reflected in argumentation, after controlling for prior knowledge and reading comprehension. Specifically, HR was a negative predictor and HRV a positive predictor; the less the students were emotionally reactive to the content read and the more they were able to self-regulate while reading, the greater their multiple-text comprehension, such as the ability to argue about the debated topic. Theoretical and practical contributions of the study are discussed

Flattening the COVID-19 curve: Emotions mediate the effects of a persuasive message on preventive action

Introduction: Across four countries (Canada, USA, UK, and Italy), we explored the effects of persuasive messages on intended and actual preventive actions related to COVID-19, and the role of emotions as a potential mechanism for explaining these effects. Methods: One thousand seventy-eight participants first reported their level of concern and emotions about COVID-19 and then received a positive persuasive text, negative persuasive text, or no text. After reading, participants reported their emotions about the pandemic and their willingness to take preventive action. One week following, the same participants reported the frequency with which they engaged in preventive action and behaviors that increased the risk of contracting COVID-19. Results: Results revealed that the positive persuasive text significantly increased individuals’ willingness to and actual engagement in preventive action and reduced risky behaviors 1 week following the intervention compared to the control condition. Moreover, significant differences were found between the positive persuasive text condition and negative persuasive text condition whereby individuals who read the positive text were more willing and actually engaged in more preventive action compared to those who read the negative text. No differences were found, however, at the 1-week follow-up for social distancing and isolation behaviors. Results also revealed that specific discrete emotions mediated relations between the effects of the texts and preventive action (both willing and actual). Discussion: This research highlights the power of educational interventions to prompt behavioral change and has implications for pandemic-related interventions, government policy on health promotion messages, and future research

Enjoyment, anxiety and boredom, and their control-value antecedents as predictors of reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is one of several vital activities necessary to success in contemporary formal education systems. This study aims to investigate the links between the three achievement emotions of enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom, and their control-value antecedents to reading comprehension. One hundred and fifty-two 5th graders completed a self-report for control-value antecedents, the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire- Elementary School (AEQ-ES) for reading-specific achievement emotions, and performed a reading comprehension task. Gender, non-verbal skills, vocabulary knowledge, and decoding skills were also considered as potentially confounding variables. Results from a path analysis revealed that the control antecedent explained about 3% of the variability in reading comprehension and anxiety partially mediated the relationship between control and reading comprehension, explaining 3% of the variance. Specifically, perceived control of reading comprehension negatively predicted anxiety, which in turn negatively predicted students' performance in a reading comprehension task. These findings highlight the contribution of anxiety to reading comprehension when controlling for gender and cognitive measures. Implications for educational practice are discussed regarding teaching strategies to self-regulate anxiety and, indirectly, promote students' reading comprehension

Emotional reactivity and comprehension of multiple online texts.

This study investigates the role of students\u2019 dispositional emotion reactivity in the comprehension of conflicting online information about the topic of health risks associated with the use of mobile phones. Arousal was measured by changes in electrodermal activity as a physiological response to an emotionally negative school-related video. Emotional valence was assessed by self-reports. One hundred and four 7th graders read six texts about the topic in websites varying for reliability and position. After reading, a sentence verification test assessed surface comprehension within texts, while a short essay assessed their comprehension across them at intertextual level, including sourcing and argumentation. Results revealed that two reliably distinct profiles of emotional response, high reactive and low reactive, emerged from a cluster analysis when considering both arousal and valence of emotionality. These profiles differentiated intertextual comprehension at sourcing level, while controlling for possible interfering variables. Low reactive students outperformed high reactive students for the ability to refer to source information and to connect it to the content provided. Findings indicate the importance of student differences in emotional reactivity in a common comprehension task in the digital era