Which of the following is a level of an independent variable manipulated in Read (1983)?
Select one:
a. Providing spaces between the words in the sentence used as stimuli
b. Removing spaces between words presented in a scrambled order
c. Providing a sentence with the word "IF" instead of "OF" in a correct order
d. Providing a sentence with words in a scrambled order, no spaces, and using the word OF
The level of an independent variable manipulated in Read (1983) is removing spaces between words presented in a scrambled order. So, the correct answer is option b.
Understanding the Independent Variable Manipulation in Read (1983)
Read's study focused on manipulating the independent variable related to the presentation format of sentences. Specifically, the experiment involved removing spaces between words and presenting them in a scrambled order. This manipulation served to investigate the effects of disrupted sentence structure on reading comprehension and cognitive processes.
In this study, the participants were exposed to sentences with altered syntactic cues, such as missing spaces and random word order. By disrupting the normal sentence structure, Read aimed to explore how readers adapt to and process such challenging sentence formats.
The manipulation of the independent variable allowed for a comparison between the reading performance and comprehension in the manipulated condition and a control condition with normally spaced and ordered sentences. By comparing the two conditions, researchers could identify the specific impact of the manipulated variable on participants' cognitive processes and comprehension abilities.
In conclusion, the level of the independent variable manipulated in Read (1983) was the removal of spaces between words and presenting them in a scrambled order. This manipulation provided valuable insights into how altered sentence structures affect reading comprehension and cognitive processing.