Executive functions and multiple-text comprehension

Background The present study aims at investigating the direct and indirect relationships between executive functions on multiple-text comprehension performance and processes. Methods The research questions were investigated through a path analysis approach. The participants in this study were 286 university students. The tasks were subdivided into three sessions to regulate cognitive fatigue during testing: demographic (age and gender) and control variables (perceived prior knowledge, prior knowledge, and need for cognition), executive functions (verbal and visuospatial working memory, inhibition, and shifting), and 3) multiple-text comprehension task (reading four texts and writing and argumentative essay: reading time, writing time, essay length, depth of comprehension, argumentative quality, text relevance ratings, and strategic processing). Results The estimated path model had an excellent fit. Visuospatial working memory and inhibition were associated with depth of comprehension. Conclusion The results of the study allow to delineate a cognitive control theory of multiple-text comprehension.