Comprehension of explicit and implicit information in prereaders: the role of maternal education, receptive vocabulary, executive functions, and theory of mind

ABSTRACT Listening narrative comprehension is a complex process that requires the processing of explicit (i.e., information presented in the text) and implicit information (i.e., information inferable from the text) and involves several linguistic and cognitive skills. However, the specific role of these skills in children’s comprehension remains unclear. This study investigated the contribution of maternal education, receptive vocabulary, executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility), and Theory of Mind to the comprehension of explicit and implicit information during a listening comprehension task among 100 Italian native speakers attending first grade (M age = 6.5 years, SD = 3.7). Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that maternal education and children’s verbal skills were positively associated with comprehension of explicit information, whereas cognitive flexibility and Theory of Mind provided an independent contribution to the comprehension of implicit information over and above maternal education and verbal skills. Prereaders not only process different types of information during a listening comprehension task and engage in integrative processes to go beyond the information presented in the text but also rely on different linguistic and cognitive skills in the comprehension of both explicit and implicit information.