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The effects of illustrations on children's comprehension of abstract and concrete passages
Author(s) -
Moore Phillip J.,
Skinner Michael J.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of research in reading
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.077
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9817
pISSN - 0141-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9817.1985.tb00272.x
Subject(s) - comprehension , literal (mathematical logic) , psychology , cognitive psychology , linguistics , developmental psychology , philosophy
This study investigates the effects of illustrations on 11‐year‐olds' comprehension of abstract and concrete passages. For half the subjects, illustrations were provided and these subjects were instructed to utilize the illustrations in comprehending each of the stories. Results for the concrete passage revealed no significant effects due to the illustration, although ability effects were found for literal, inferential and total comprehension. Similar ability effects were found for the abstract passage. In addition, for the abstract passage significant effects attributable to the illustration were revealed for inferential and total comprehension. A more detailed analysis of this facilitative effect showed that both text‐based and script‐based inferences were significantly enhanced when an illustration accompanied the abstract passage.