Dark‐interval‐threshold and Reading and Listening Comprehension in Nine‐year‐old Children

Abstract

Sixty nine-year-old children were grouped within sexes into three levels of dark-interval-threshold (DIT), and then both read and listened to easy and difficult prose passages which were followed by comprehension questions. A significant interaction was found between DIT, mode of presentation (reading or listening) and level of difficulty on their effect on comprehension. Generally, comprehension decreased with DIT although this was less marked when listening to the difficult material. The finding indicates that DIT reflects processes other than those involved just in the visual system. A comparison of DIT with extraversion and field-independence showed that DIT was significantly, although not highly, related to extraversion but not to field-independence.

Dark‐interval‐threshold, illumination level and children's reading performance

“…Since reading technique is likely to change with increasing age from one word at a time to scanning of sentences for meaning (see, for example, Goodman 1967) it became apparent that DIT was probably not a purely visual process but a manifestation of a more central characteristic of the information processing system. In view of this, Riding and Pugh (1986) investigated the relationship between DIT and both reading and listening comprehension, and found that DIT was related to both in a fairly similar manner confirming that the effect was not limited to the visual system.…”

“…In view of the finding of Riding and Pugh (1986) of a relationship between DIT and both reading and listening comprehension, the effect is not restricted to the visual system. For subjects having a short persistence the visual or auditory signal of a word will fade very quickly which may cause some of the words to be lost.…”

“…This is defined as the maximum frequency of a flickering light which can be detected. The technique is related to that used by Pollack, Ptashne and Carter (1969) whose technique, slightly modified, was used by Riding and Pugh (1977and 1986) and Riding and Willetts (1980). There is a possible link between CFF and physiological arousal (Frith, 1967).…”

“…Les enfants dont le DIT se trouvait I un niveau median par rapport a l'kchelle de mesure, se sont montrts de facon significative, aussi bien au niveau de la comprthension de lecture que de la prtcision, meilleurs que ceux dont le DIT se trouvait I une extremitk ou I l'autre de l'kchelle de mesure. Riding et Pugh (1986) ont dtcouvert que le DIT devait &re relit I la comprthension en matihre de lecture aussi bien qu' en matitre d'kcoute, cela de facon similaire, ce qui indique que les effects du DIT ne se limitent pas seulement au systtme visuel. Le but de la prbente ktude etait de rechercher quel est l'effet de l'intensitt lumineuse sur les performances de lecture pour des sujets A court, median et long DIT.…”