Performance amplification and process restructuring in computer-based writing

✍ Scribed by Ronald T. Kellogg; Suzanne Mueller

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1993
• Weight: 676 KB
• Volume: 39
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7373
• DOI: 10.1006/imms.1993.1052

✦ Synopsis

This research compared composing on a word processor with writing in longhand to explore whether the computer-based tool amplifies performance and restructures attentional allocation to writing processes. Performance was assessed in terms of the quality of the resulting documents, based on subjective ratings and text analysis, and the fluency of language production. The allocation of attentional resources was monitored in terms of the degree of cognitive effort (secondary task reaction times) and processing time (directed retrospective reports) devoted to planning ideas, translating ideas into text, and reviewing ideas and text. In Experiment 1, word processing increased the attentional investment in and nature of planning and reviewing, without improving either the quality or fluency of writing. In Experiment 2 these restructuring effects were again observed both for writers who reported modest experience composing on a computer and to an even greater degree for those who reported extensive experience. Only participants with extensive word processing experience matched the quality and fluency of those who wrote in longhand.