Digital reading in university students: contributions of executive functioning and reading habits

This study examined the comprehension of expository and narrative texts read on screens, and its association with executive functions, reading habits, and reading media of choice (paper or screen) for study or recreational purposes, in university students. Participants were ninety-eight university students (76.8% women, mean age: M = 20.6, DS = 5.24 years), who completed a screen-based expository and narrative text comprehension task, a computerized executive functions assessment (working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition), a survey on reading habits and an author recognition test. Working memory was a general predictor of comprehension, while flexibility was specifically linked to expository text comprehension. Fiction exposure specifically contributed to narrative text comprehension. Students who preferred to study on screens showed better performance on expository text comprehension than those who chose to study on paper. The contribution of executive functions to reading comprehension on screens was similar to that observed in paper-reading studies. The effect of study reading media of choice suggests that practice might compensate the more superficial reading mode that is typically observed in digital media reading studies.