Self-regulatory decision-making in reading for comprehension: An examination of ease-of-processing, self-efficacy beliefs in reading, and judgments of learning

This document describes experimental research conducted with the objective of better understanding adults' self-regulatory decision-making (e.g., study choice) process in reading for comprehension. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which individuals' self-regulatory process may be influenced by ease-of-processing. On an exploratory basis, this study also investigated the extent to which metacognitive self-assessments of learning and self-efficacy beliefs in reading may potentially interact with ease-of-processing as a predictor of study choice. In the context of reading comprehension, ease-of-processing refers to the relative ease or difficulty of processing information. Metacognitive self-assessments of learning in this context refer to personal judgments of self-perceived learning (e.g., judgments of learning) in a reading task. Self-efficacy beliefs in reading refer to personal beliefs about one's own self-perceived competence or skill as a reader. This research builds on a pilot study which found evidence to support the possibility that when reading an essay designed to be difficult to read, participants' pre-existing self-efficacy beliefs in reading may influence participants' subsequent study choices. The current research sought to extend these findings by more thoroughly examining the role of ease-of-processing in participants' self-regulatory decision-making process while engaged in reading for comprehension. On an exploratory basis, judgments of learning and self-efficacy beliefs in reading were also examined regarding the extent to which these variables may moderate the relationship, if any, between ease-of-processing and self-regulation choice (i.e., study choice). As it happens, neither judgments of learning nor self-efficacy beliefs in reading served as significant moderators of this relationship.