Reading comprehension (RC) plays a fundamental role in academic success at all levels of the educational system. In the last decades, there has been an interest in studying the effect of induced emotions on RC. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine if high-arousal induced emotions with positive or negative valence have an effect on RC according to the type of text (narrative or expository).
Method: 92 preadolescents (age 10 to 13, M = 11.00, DS =.954) from Mendoza, Argentina participated. The scholars were randomly assigned to two groups: the first one (Group A, n = 45) was exposed for 40 seconds to a positive valence picture from the International Affective System (IAPS), and the second group (Group B, n = 47) was exposed during 40 seconds too, to a negative valence picture from the IAPS. Immediately, the scholars read a narrative and an expository text, and they answered questions of RC. Finally, valence and arousal values were retested in the manipulation check phase.
Results and discussions: A Manova test was applied to check the differences between the groups, finding positive outcomes: λ =.906, F (2.89) = 4.609, p <.05, η² =.094. The group exposed to positive valence pictures (Group A) achieved higher scores in both types of text: expositive (p <.05) and narrative (p < .05). These findings suggest that positive emotions may promote RC in preadolescents, especially when they read narrative texts.

Authors:
Melisa Victoria Diaz, The National University of Córdoba, Argentina
Natalia Carolina Irrazabal, CONICET; University of Palermo, Argentina
Mirta Susana Ison, INCIHUSA-CONICET; University of Aconcagua, Argentina

About the Presenter(s)
Melisa Victoria Diaz is a PhD student from Mendoza, Argentina. She researches the influences of inducted emotions and mood on reading comprehension in pre-adolescents from 10 to 13 years old.

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