Readers' Comprehension of New Text Formats. Part II. Main Theoretical Frameworks and their Empirical Implementation in International Cognitive Science5

In this article, we analyze the state-of-the-art in international research on comprehension of texts of new formats. We describe the concept of “multimedia text”, which is widely accepted in literature, as well as discuss its alternatives. Also, we thoroughly describe key theoretical models, such as the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and the Integrated Model of Text and Picture Comprehension, which are often employed in formulating and testing research hypotheses in this field. Furthermore, we offer a brief overview of meta-analytical studies in this area, which suggests a range of consistent effects (such as a positive impact of illustrations on text comprehension) as well as various external and internal factors influencing these effects (e.g., presence of visual navigation aids or level of a reader’s relevant background knowledge). Finally, we address some emerging research questions which should be tackled in future research. We also highlight the lack of such studies on Russian-language materials and conclude that introducing these questions into Russian psycholinguistics will be beneficial for advancing this field within the global scientific multilingual research context.