The development of reading comprehension monitoring ability and its moderating factors among third and fifth grade children

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.0853

Abstract

Abstract: Comprehension monitoring refers to the metacognitive process whereby readers detect a mismatch between their current situation model and new information encountered in the text (awareness) and repair this mismatch by reconstructing the situation model. Previous research has shown that comprehension monitoring plays a critical role in reading, as it helps children focus on relevant information. However, deficits in word recognition and decoding can also lead to reading difficulties and are closely related to cognitive abilities. At present, there is relatively little research on developmental patterns of comprehension monitoring across grade levels, and studies on how cognitive abilities modulate children’s comprehension monitoring have mainly focused on second language learners or children with special educational needs. Drawing on eye-tracking methodology and employing an inconsistency detection paradigm, the present study investigates how children monitor inconsistencies and related information in texts during reading, and examines developmental differences and the moderating roles of relevant cognitive abilities. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 adopted a 2 (Grade: third vs. fifth) × 2 (Semantic consistency: consistent vs. inconsistent) × 2 (Semantic relatedness: related vs. unrelated) three-factor mixed experimental design, with semantic consistency and semantic relatedness as within-subjects variables and grade as a between-subjects variable. On the basis of the preceding analyses, we additionally examined whether morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge moderated the relations involving comprehension monitoring. We also conducted path analyses to clarify how morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge exert their effects on comprehension monitoring. Participants were required to read the experimental materials and complete comprehension judgment tasks. The results showed that (1) both third- and fifth-grade children effectively monitored textual information, as reflected by significantly longer Gaze duration, Second reading time, and Regression-path duration in the inconsistent than in the consistent condition; (2) text relatedness did not modulate the comprehension monitoring process, but related text information enhanced reading efficiency among third graders; and (3) vocabulary knowledge moderated children’s comprehension monitoring, such that children with richer vocabulary knowledge repaired inconsistencies more rapidly. Although morphological awareness did not exert a direct effect, it influenced comprehension monitoring indirectly through vocabulary knowledge. These findings indicate that third-grade children already exhibit a certain level of comprehension monitoring ability, and that improvements in this ability are closely associated with vocabulary knowledge and morphological awareness.

Key words: comprehension monitoring, vocabulary knowledge, morphemic awareness, semantic relevance

JIANG Bofan, CHEN Qiyang, CUI Nannan, WU Yan. (2026). The development of reading comprehension monitoring ability and its moderating factors among third and fifth grade children. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 58(5), 853-865.

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