What readers actually read

Per Henning Uppstad

Associate professor (PhD), UiS

What readers actually read

The impact ofthe reader’sexpericence

The impact ofthe Task

The role ofattention and

motivation

The reader’s experience

• Readers are different: background knowledge, personal style, speed, preferences

• However, some behaviour can be predicted: behaviour related to expericence in specificdomains

• What expert readers do: – They read with ease and speed– They are able to identify the difficult parts of the text,

reducing speed and re-read if necessary– They make an overview and summarize a text from a

limited set of markers

Expert readers:

• Are familiar with the texts of a particularprofessional domain.

• ”10 000 hour rule” (Ericsson et al, 1991)

• Evaluation by intuition

• Such positive markers are: – Well selected and informative graphics

• The reader should never think: what function has thispicture? Where is the point of the graph explained?

– Well organized structure of text, well formulatedtext.

– Highlighted text: Introductions, headings, summaries, key-text.

reading paths

The impact of the task

Different texts –different entry points

Entry points - newspaper

Holsanova, Rahm & Holmqvist, 2006

The impact of the task

Entry points

The role of attentionand motivation

• ”Attention is limited” - readers don’t read with full concentration all the time. And even if they did– theywould still miss some of your points.

Consequences: Make sure that what attracts attention is important. - highlighted text (key text, headings, introductions, summaries) - Rethorical iteration (say what you are going to say, sayit, say what you have said). Never start or end a paragraph with a weak argument , put it between thegood ones.

The role of attentionand motivation

• ”Motivation is fragile” Make sure you have presented the main point

before the reader gets bored. Expert readers willjudge at an earlier stage than less experiencedreaders.

Consequences: If a text passage is unclear for yourcolleague– it will be unclear to others, and a source of boredom. Experienced readers areaddicted to the feeling of understanding withrelative ease.

Radial vs serial information graphics

radial

serial

Holsanova et al, 2008

Integrated, serial graphics

• Ericsson, K. A., and J. Smith, eds., 1991, *Toward a General Theory of Expertise: Prospects and Limits*. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

• Holsanova, J., Holmqvist, K. & Holmberg, N. (2008): Reading information graphics: The Role of Spatial Proximity and Dual Attentional Guidance. Applied Cognitive Psychology (2008).

• Holsanova, J., Rahm, H., & Holmqvist, K. (2006). Entry points and reading paths on the newspaper spread: Comparing semiotic analysis with eye-tracking measurements. Visual Communication, 5, 65–93.