Cognitive Tools and Thinking Performance: The Case of Word Processors and Writing.

A study examined whether word processing amplifies writing performance and whether it restructures the process of writing. Sixteen college students wrote a short essay in a single session on either a word processor or in longhand. The quality of the essays was assessed by trained judges who rated their content and style. Text analysis methods were also employed to corroborate the subjective ratings. Writing fluency was measured in terms of words produced per minute of composing time. Changes in the organization of cognitive processing were studied by measuring the degree of cognitive effort and processing time associated with specific writing processes. Findings suggested that word processing restructured writing processes, but failed to amplify writing performance. Most importantly, results indicated that the pattern of allocating cognitive effort to writing processes interacted with the type of writing tool. Whereas effort was distributed about equally to planning, translating, and reviewing when writing longhand, a different pattern was seen on the word processor. Planning and reviewing consumed the most effort, and translating the least. Processing time, in contrast to cognitive effort, failed to show any interaction between writing tool and process. (Nine figures of data are included; 18 references are attached.) (KEH)