Why We Misread

Students often misread exam questions 

There are many reasons for this some of which are outlined below.

Most students are sick of hearing – read the question – isn’t that just stating the obvious?

However, there are a few psychological theories such as Cognitive Bias, specifically confirmation bias or top-down processing errors that can cause us to read what we expect to see rather than what is in front of us. 

Confirmation Bias: This bias occurs when people favor information that confirms their preexisting beliefs or expectations.

In the context of an exam, you might misread a question because you expect it to be similar to something you’ve studied or encountered before. You may skim the question and unconsciously “fill in the blanks” with what you expect to see, leading to misinterpretation.

Top-Down Processing: This theory involves the brain using prior knowledge, experiences, and expectations to interpret information. When you read a question, your brain automatically tries to make sense of it based on what you’ve learned and what you anticipate will be asked. If you’re rushing or anxious, you might rely too heavily on these expectations rather than the actual wording, leading to errors.

Cognitive Load Theory: During an exam, students are often under stress and cognitive load, which refers to the total amount of mental effort being used in working memory. High cognitive load can overwhelm the brain’s processing capacity, making it harder to accurately read and understand questions. You may overlook key words or misinterpret phrasing because your working memory is stretched thin.

Anchoring Heuristic: 

This is very common, it refers to when individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of information they see. In exams, you might latch onto a familiar term or the beginning of a question and base your understanding of the entire question on that initial anchor, even if the rest of the question changes its meaning. This is particularly common these days when everyone is used to skimming information.

Attention and Perceptual Set: 

A perceptual set is a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the available sensory data and ignore others, influenced by expectations, motivations, and emotions. In exams, stress or haste can create a perceptual set that primes students to read questions in a certain way, often leading to misinterpretations.

All of these processes can work against you in an exam, and this is why it is wise to read each question 3 times and actively think about what is being asked.

Now that you know why it is important to read the question 3 times, you are much more likely to do so. 

At Learning Innovation Academy, we believe in explaining the logic behind our suggestions.  When you understand why something is a good idea, it is alot more likely you will do it than if you are just told to do it without proper explanation.

All of these psychological factors contribute to why students may misread exam questions, emphasizing the importance of careful reading, managing exam stress, and strategies like highlighting or underlining key parts of questions to mitigate these biases and errors.

The good news is that while exam scripts are still corrected by humans, we can sometimes write our answers in such a way, with the knowledge that the corrector is also subject to their own cognitive biases and this can work in our favour.  This is one of the considerations in our exam coaching sessions.  Click here for information on our packages, or here to contact us.