Per Henning Uppstad, Associate professor (PhD) What readers actually read

1. What readers actually read
Per Henning Uppstad
Associate professor (PhD), UiS

2. What readers actually read
The impact of
the reader’s The impact of
expericence the Task
The role of
attention and
motivation

3. The reader’s experience
• Readers are different: background knowledge,
personal style, speed, preferences
• However, some behaviour can be predicted:
behaviour related to expericence in specific
domains
• 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

4. Expert readers:
• Are familiar with the texts of a particular
professional domain.
• ”10 000 hour rule” (Ericsson et al, 1991)
• Evaluation by intuition

5. • Such positive markers are:
– Well selected and informative graphics
• The reader should never think: what function has this
picture? Where is the point of the graph explained?
– Well organized structure of text, well formulated
text.
– Highlighted text: Introductions, headings,
summaries, key-text.

6. reading paths

7. The impact of the task

8. Different texts –
different entry points

9. Entry points - newspaper
Holsanova, Rahm & Holmqvist, 2006

10. The impact of the task

11. Entry points

12. The role of attention
and motivation
• ”Attention is limited” - readers don’t read with full
concentration all the time. And even if they did– they
would 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, say
it, say what you have said). Never start or end a
paragraph with a weak argument , put it between the
good ones.

14. The role of attention
and motivation
• ”Motivation is fragile”
Make sure you have presented the main point
before the reader gets bored. Expert readers will
judge at an earlier stage than less experienced
readers.
Consequences: If a text passage is unclear for your
colleague– it will be unclear to others, and a
source of boredom. Experienced readers are
addicted to the feeling of understanding with
relative ease.

15. Radial vs serial information graphics
radial
serial
Holsanova et al, 2008

17. Integrated, serial graphics

18. • 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.