| Abstract: | In a study of 268 college students, measures of exposure to print predicted individual differences in knowledge in a variety of domains even after individual differences on 4 indicators of general ability (high school GPA, Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices, Nelson-Denny Reading Test—Comprehension subtest, and a mathematics ability test) had been statistically controlled. Although correlational, results suggest that print exposure is an independent contributor to the acquisition of content knowledge. The data challenge the view that knowledge acquisition is determined only by the efficiency of cognitive components that encode and store information. Instead, the results indicate that differences in exposure to information, particularly written sources of information, is a significant contributor to differences in knowledge across individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
