Mental Imagery and the Comprehension-Monitoring Performance of Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Poor Readers.

THE PURPOSE of this study was to investigate the effects of mental imagery upon the comprehension-monitoring performance of poor readers. Sixty-two fourth-grade and 62 fifth-grade poor readers were randomly assigned to two treatments: imagery instructions or general instructions. Subjects read two passages, one containing an explicit inconsistency and one containing an implicit inconsistency. Following silent reading of each passage, the subjects responded to a 10-item instrument designed to elicit information concerning their awareness of the inconsistency embedded in the text. The subjects who received instructions to induce mental imagery identified both explicit and implicit inconsistencies in text significantly more often than did the subjects in the control group. The results are interpreted as support of the use of mental imagery as a comprehension-monitoring strategy.

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