Incidental Learning From Science Journalism: The Effects of a Narrative Writing Style on the Comprehension and Situational Interest of Austrian Non-Experts in Health Sciences

Austrian non-experts in health sciences often lack the scientific knowledge to make informed decisions that affect their daily lives and society as a whole. In general, their interest in current scientific knowledge is low, so it is unlikely that they will actively seek out information. Adult non-experts therefore need to acquire relevant scientific information incidentally, e.g., by reading journalistic articles. Journalistic articles traditionally follow an inverted pyramid structure, presenting the most important information first, while narratives unfold events chronologically with intentionally acting characters. Journalistic science narratives provide information that is usually missing in inverted pyramids. This additional information may increase situational interest in journalistic science narratives. Most people are confronted with narratives more often than with explanatory texts in everyday life and can therefore process them better. Due to the linear structure, relevant information elements are automatically activated at the same time, which further facilitates processing. An online study in the context of online science journalism on nutrition topics was conducted in Austria with 461 adult nonexperts in health sciences recruited via online platforms. The dependent variables comprehension, cognitive load and situational interest were investigated using a multiple-tier test and self-reports. The results indicate significantly higher comprehension and general situational interest and significantly lower cognitive load after reading journalistic science narratives compared to inverted pyramids. However, situational interest in journalistic science narratives was significantly lower after participants had read the first paragraph. It then increased and was significantly higher than that for inverted pyramids for the rest of the article. Therefore, journalistic science narratives with a strictly chronological structure should be used with caution. When initial situational interest is low, individuals may stop reading before they have enough information to fully comprehend the content. In addition, higher situational interest is correlated with a lower perception of cognitive load.