Facilitating Knowledge-Based Inferences in Less-Skilled Readers

The present study replicated Long, Oppy, and Seely's (1994) finding that skilled readers make knowledge-based inferences spontaneously during reading whereas less-skilled readers do not. However, the study also showed that less-skilled readers can make knowledge-based inferences with appropriate textual support. Evidence for knowledge-based inferences was obtained by examining whether readers were faster to make lexical decision responses to theme-appropriate targets (e.g., burglar) than to theme-inappropriate targets (e.g., blueprint), when reading short passages (e.g., The old woman awoke to a sound from downstairs. She reached into her purse and found only a file.). Whereas skilled readers generated knowledge-based inferences under all text conditions, less-skilled readers only showed evidence of having generated knowledge-based inferences when the text incorporated a question inviting the inference (e.g., The old woman awoke and said, 'Why is there a sound downstairs?' She reached into her purse and found only a file.) and text-presentation speed was slower. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.