Human Information Processing Correlates of Reading Hypertext
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/stc/tc/1996/00000043/00000001/art00005
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  peer-reviewed

Wegner, Michael J. and David G. Payne
Technical Communication Online
1996

Abstract:

There are a number of systematic relationships between basic measures of cognitive processing and measures of reading performance. The correlational study reported here demonstrates that these same relationships can be observed in the reading of hypertext. In addition, correlations among spatial processing abilities and performance with hypertext support the idea that spatial and relational processing play important roles in reading and using hypertext.