Reading vs Listening to Audiobooks (What science says about it)

Is listening to audiobooks the same as reading? Are audiobooks cheating? This video answers these questions, and explains why audiobooks are not the same as reading.

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Chapters:
00:00 Are books and audiobooks the same?
00:55 Summary of video
01:40 Why would there be a difference in the first place?
02:16 1. Reading = greater comprehension and retention
03:13 2. Reading and listening = trainable skills
04:05 Interest can drive skill development
05:05 3. Listening = more convenient
05:45 Choose whichever one you prefer
06:34 Please subscribe! Thank you for watching!

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Relevant Articles and Sources:

Rogowsky, B. A., Calhoun, B. M., & Tallal, P. (2016). Does modality matter? The effects of reading, listening, and dual modality on comprehension. SAGE Open, 6(3), 2158244016669550.

Varao Sousa, T. L., Carriere, J. S., & Smilek, D. (2013). The way we encounter reading material influences how frequently we mind wander. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 892.

Stepien-Bernabe, N. N., Lei, D., McKerracher, A., & Orel-Bixler, D. A. (2019). Making Sense of Reading: The Impact of Presentation Format on Reading Comprehension for Sighted and Blind Individuals. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 60(9), 3306-3306.

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[somjrgebn]

For audiobooks, something to consider are the tasks you are doing while listening to an audiobook. Many specifically listen to audiobooks so they can multitask, and that is where problems arise.

There are two important studies on multi-tasking with audiobooks:

First - for Low Attention Tasks

Lin Lin et. al. (2009) did a study on college students for assessing their reading performance under three conditions: (a) reading only (silence condition), (b) reading with a video playing in the background (background multitasking condition), and (c) reading and watching video simultaneously (test multitasking condition). They found that the participants performed best in the background condition, i.e. when they had a background video playing. This a surprising finding. A similar study was done by Jennifer Lee et. al. (2011) and found that the performance was similar for cases (a) and (b). This suggests that "low attention tasks" will not negatively affect your comprehension, and may even increase comprehension (as suggest by Lee et. al. (2009)).

Second - for High Attention Tasks

Beyond conclusions about the effect of low-attention tasks, Jennifer et. al. (2011) also rigorously tested the effect of "high attention tasks". To quote from their abstract:

"Participants were given a timed (16 minutes) reading comprehension test in three conditions: Silence (only reading), Background multitasking (reading with a non-tested video shown simultaneously), and Test multitasking (reading with a tested video shown simultaneously) conditions.

Our findings indicated that: (1) participants in the Background condition performed as well as those in the Silence condition, and (2) when participants were tested on their video comprehension, the group in the Test condition performed significantly better than the group in the Background condition. The results of this study suggest that cognitive load plays an important role in determining how much information is retained when students perform more than one task at a time."

Their conclusion tells that the division of cognitive load affects your performance very clearly. Hence, it is best to avoid the high-attention tasks altogether.

For me, this is why I personally do prefer reading from physical books. Not because I'm assuming reading the physical book itself will improve my comprehension, but because it helps isolate myself from distractions that have been proven to degrade reading comprehension. If you listen to audiobooks WITHOUT doing high attention tasks, the results could be the same. Otherwise, you are hurting your reading comprehension.

References:
- Lin Lin, Tip Robertson & Jennifer Lee (2009) Reading Performances Between Novices and Experts in Different Media Multitasking Environments, Computers in the Schools, 26:3, 169-186, DOI: 10.1080/07380560903095162

- Jennifer Lee, Lin Lin & Tip Robertson (2012) The impact of media multitasking on learning, Learning, Media and Technology, 37:1, 94-104, DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2010.537664

[alicenorris]

I have many low-attention tasks to do, and also like to fall asleep while listening to something. My love for audiobooks includes, that I am willing to grapple with classic literature that I would not be able to pay attention to well enough in written form.

[ericolstad]

Holding the book while simulataneously listening to an audiobook version is extremely helpful to get through difficult books and also retain the info; especially when the book isn't something you'd normally read, I.e. something assigned at college.

[sumithharold]

Me listening to this video at 2 times speed

[kofuller]

Audiobooks have made me a really lazy reader. I find it hard to stay focused while reading unless I mentally force myself to keep going, then after a while it gets easier.

[Moriningland]

I do both, read and listen at the same time, for most of my non-fiction books. I feel like I absorb information so much better. Plus, I can titrate the speed of the audiobook: fast enough that my mind doesn’t wander but slow enough that I’m able to focus deeply.

But I feel like reading alone is also good for your brain

[RogerFordTheSmilingBassHole]

Excellent! I love how you mention both methods can be improved upon. In school, I was a bit of a math and science geek (well, maybe more than a bit -- though I've "recovered" since those days!) But I was not a great reader (possibly related to mild dyslexia). I was always at the top of every course except reading, where I was put into a remedial reading group.

Now I LOVE Audible. I can absorb information so much better through listening. If Audible had been available (or even audiobooks) when I was in college, I would have been able to finish so many more novels for English classes (I wanted to be a writer).

Thanks for your discussion!

[JohnnyC]

I am a huge fan of audio books and podcasts. However, if I am trying to master a complex topic, like in a text book, I'd have to have a traditional book. For me audio is so easy and I can listen while I am doing so many other things.

[fiaghost]

i have recently discovered audiobooks for myself, and i gotta say, when it comes to fiction, my own inner voice is kind of bad at acting? the same lines hit harder when i hear them than when i read them. even if the audiobook isn't read by a professional actor, they will still deliver more emotion reading out loud than my brain ever bothers to. needles to say i'm a sucker for good voice acting, audiobooks deserve to be appreciated as a type of art by themselves.
that being said, i do get distracted sometimes and miss certain bits. i guess the perfect way to consume books for me would be following the text while i listen to audio. but again, that's inconvenient, so idk

[Hemraj_Thapa]

"Rest is also productive" loved this ❤

[annakabatova]

I'm really glad that my audiobooks app can speed it up, because most of the times the pace of reader is extremely slow!
Also I found that "reading" non-fiction or practical books in audio is pretty much not effective.
And also I'm surprised that there's no still 500K subscribers... :)

[guymiller]

I disagree that you can't get into a book by listening because I have cried over audio books before

[bendodd]

I love audiobooks but I find when I listen to them I'm not as engaged to the content and concepts which brings comprehension down and you lose where your at
Especially if your doing another task at the same time
When you read a book you usually do it in a quiet place and fully engaged which puts you in the zone to focus and remember what your reading
But I think if you were to sit down and focus the same way with an audiobook it could be very similar

[NotNotDabs]

So, do both, listening and reading are important skills, but, while listening do low attention task (based on another comment that show up studies).

[anrios]

I listed to the same book twice, on a subject I really love, and can’t barely remember what was there. Reading > listening anytime.

[franceswitham]

I like audiobooks but I honestly do get more from reading.

[shaneyoung]

You are not reading period. Its like saying a 2 year old child being read to is a good reader and they cant read. Give me a break.

[hammerandthewrench]

You should listen to an audiobook the same way you read it. Alone. Listen. Like one reads. Attention undivided.

[AnaGuillenBachs]

I'm learning English so, I listen the audiobook while reading the book. My full attention it's on the book+audiobook so I think my retention and comprehension it's much higher

[imrankalim]

Best is to listen to audio books and in the process of listen write the learnings on the note pad which is mix of reading with listening and writing what you are learning in your own words.