Can Bold Typeface Improve Readers’ Comprehension and Metacomprehension of Negation?

Recent research on negation has demonstrated that while readers are aware that this text construction is difficult, they seem to be able to do little to improve their comprehension. The present research evaluated whether a change in typeface could improve comprehension and metacomprehension of negation. Results indicated that while readers were aware that placing a word in bold typeface should attract their attention to that item, and therefore improve their comprehension, comprehension did not improve differentially for negation presented in bold. Additionally, readers' awareness of the necessity of attention to the bold component was not specific to negative sentences.