Text-belief Consistency Effect in L2 Reading Comprehension with News Articles

This study investigated the impact of 89 EFL adult learners’ prior beliefs on English reading comprehension, focusing on their economic situation and political orientation. Results showed a positive correlation between higher income and conservative views, between lower income with progressive views. A reading assessment with passages on abortion and taxation revealed that students’ reading comprehension correlated with their political and economic backgrounds. Specifically, students comprehended articles better when the content aligned with their beliefs. This aligns with the text-belief consistency effect, which indicate higher comprehension for texts consistent with readers’ pre-existing beliefs. The study highlights that students’ backgrounds and beliefs can affect their understanding of reading material and raises concerns about potential biases in reading comprehension.