Headings could encourage readers to use structure strategy when processing text, thus resulting in a better recall 

Strategy Selection Hypothesis 

- Regardless of the presence of headings, adult readers use structure strategy to process text. 
- Headings could help make the text structure clearer for the readers, thus improving recall

Strategy Implementation Hypothesis

- Strategy Selection Hypothesis 
- Strategy Implementation Hypothesis

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Text processing strategies 

Sanchez, Rebecca Polley ; Lorch, Elizabeth Pugzles ; Lorch, Robert F. (n.d.). Effects of Headings on Text Processing Strategies. Contemporary educational psychology. San Diego, CA: Elsevier Inc.

Effects of Headings on Text Processing Strategies

- If the text contains no signals that facilitate organization of the text, readers would process the text in a linear format like a list of ideas.
- When being asked to recall the information, they would search the information serially and recalling one idea would trigger the recall of the next idea in their imagined list.

Linear Strategy

- readers would organize the information hierarchically based on a set of related subtopics. 
- Readers would recall the information in a  top-down way like how they process the information hierarchically  

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