Differences in brain information processing between print and computer screens: bottom-up and top-down attention factors

Joel Geske and Saras Bellur

This study tests 34 subjects to see if reading differs between print materials and the same information delivered via computer CRT (cathode ray tube) screen.

Differences in brain information processing between print and computer screens: Bottom-up and top-down attention factors

Joel Geske and Saras BellurIowa State University

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to see if media choice affects attention patterns for subjects reading text. Anecdotally, this researcher, educators and others have noticed that, when the internet is used, many people print out lengthy or difficult reading material presented on a computer screen so that they 'can read it' or so that they 'can understand it'. A series of typography studies undertaken in the mid-1990s (Geske 1995) confirms that typography for...

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