Reading digital text involves working memory updating based on task characteristics and reader behavior

Receiving and using web-based information has become part of everyday life, but the non-linear presentation of information can make considerable demands on cognitive resources, affecting text comprehension. This study examined whether memory updating predicts students' comprehension of digital hypertext over and above skills in reading linearly structured text, and whether this association is affected by particular characteristics of reading tasks, the hypertext and individual reading behavior. Measures included reading comprehension as assessed via hypertext (digital reading) and linear text (linear reading) as well as memory updating among 15-year-old German students (N = 288). The number of nodes in a hypertext and cognitive reading operations required for task processing were regarded as task characteristics. Indicators of reader behavior were derived from log files. The results demonstrated a general effect of memory updating on digital reading over and above linear reading. This effect was not affected by the number of available nodes but by cognitive reading operations and individual reader behavior. Implications for students' cognitive processing of hypertexts are discussed.