Reading ability and use of a story schema in recalling and reconstructing information.

Examined the differences between 48 good and 48 poor 6th-grade readers' use of a story schema in recall and reconstruction tasks. Ss heard a story either in canonical (standard) or interleaved (a form of scrambling) format and were instructed to recall the story and reconstruct the order of story events either directly as they heard it or as it should be. Performance in the reconstruction and recall tasks showed that both good and poor readers could use a story schema when the story followed canonical format; however poor readers' story schema was either not as well-developed or as efficiently used. Both recall and reconstruction data provided evidence that schematic retrieval is not obligatory for either type of reader. Good readers could use a story schema when cued to do so in any task, but poor readers could do so only in the reconstruction task. Differential improvement of poor readers' performance relative to that of good readers' in a 2nd phase of the experiment due to previous experience in the 1st phase was obtained only in the reconstruction task. Conclusions support the view that poor readers perform differently from younger normal children. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Asymmetry of cerebral hemispheric function in normal and poor readers.

Reviews studies that have attempted to use methods of brief lateral visual presentation of linguistic stimuli to investigate asymmetry of organization of cerebral hemispheric functions in normal and poor readers. It is argued that any between-group differences found in such studies can be properly interpreted only when it is known that Ss in both groups approached the given tasks in the same way. It is shown that most existing studies have failed to meet this requirement because of failure to control Ss' central fixation, failure to demonstrate that the same types of stimuli were recognized by normal and poor readers, failure to take into account the possibility that normal and poor readers may have used different strategies or processes to accomplish particular tasks, and failure to compare groups of normal and poor readers matched on reading ability. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal labelling, auditory-visual integration, and reading ability.

Classified 32 male 2nd graders into good and poor readers on the basis of whether their scores on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test were at or above vs below the level predicted from their IQ scores on the Otis Quick-Scoring Mental Ability Test. Ss were given verbal labeling and auditory-visual integration tasks. In general, good readers performed better than poor readers on the verbal labeling task. There was, however, no difference between the good and poor readers in performance on auditory-visual integration. Results are interpreted as lending support to the data that poor readers may have a general lack of ability in linking symbols with objects or actions. (French summary) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immediate spatial order memory and item memory in sixth-grade children as a function of reader ability.

16 good and 16 poor 6th-grade readers served as Ss. Exp I tested immediate order memory for strings of 4 and 6 consonants that were either redundant (R) or nonredundant (NR) based on positional frequencies of letters in printed English. Both reader groups were better in retrieving order for R strings; poor readers were inferior to good readers on both R and NR 6-letter strings. Exp II tested for immediate order memory and immediate item memory for strings of 8 digits and strings of 8 consonants. Good readers were better than poor readers on all tasks. However, order memory appeared to be more strongly related to reading ability than was item memory. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading, memory, and metacognition.

Investigated relations among reading skills, metareading (knowledge about reading), memory, and metamemory (knowledge about memory) as they relate to reading ability (good vs poor readers), operativity, and grade level. 40 2nd graders (aged 7.25–9.83 yrs) and 40 4th graders (aged 9.42–22.00 yrs) were interviewed to assess the reading–memory variables. Significant but low correlations were obtained between metareading and reading, metamemory and memory, metareading and metamemory, and reading and memory. Significant effects of operativity were revealed on all dependent measures. Operative Ss had higher scores on the metareading and metamemory tasks, read at higher levels, and remembered more items on the memory tasks than did nonoperative Ss. Effects of grade level were revealed on most dependent measures. Fourth-grade Ss received higher scores on the metareading and metamemory tasks and read at higher levels than did 2nd-grade Ss. An interaction between operativity and grade level revealed that operative 2nd-grade and both groups of 4th-grade Ss made fewer total reading errors than did nonoperative 2nd-grade Ss. The effects of operativity, experience, and metacognition on reading and memory skills are discussed. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading difficulties, behavior, and social status.

198 boys from lower class backgrounds took part in a longitudinal study covering the 1st 2 yrs of elementary school. The research concerned the effect of reading difficulties and behavior on peer rejection and popularity. Children were rated on the Children's Behavior Questionnaire, the Adversity Index, and a sociometric inquiry, and tested with the Thackray Reading Readiness Profiles, Southgate Tests of Ward Selection, and the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale. Rejected Ss came from more adverse social backgrounds and were conceptually more limited than their more popular peers. Also examined was whether poor readers were rejected more often than good readers. Results indicate that when poor readers were rejected it was because of their antisocial behavior rather than because of their difficulties in reading. Poor readers who were stable and conformed to classroom requirements were no more rejected than good readers of equivalent behavior; however, they were less popular. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of word imagery on reading performance as a function of reader ability.

Conducted 3 experiments on the effects of word imagery, length, and frequency on reading difficulty. Ss were 27 8-10 yr old poor readers in Exp I, 24 8-11 yr old good readers in Exp II, and 10 poor and 10 good readers (mean age 9 yrs 6 mo) in Exp III. High frequency words were found to be easier to read for both good and poor readers. High-imagery words were easier to read for poor readers only. Word length had little effect on reading difficulty for either good or poor readers. The differential effect of word imagery on reading difficulty for good and poor readers is interpreted in terms of the types of reading strategy used--phonics for good readers and whole word reading for poor readers. When children are forced to learn to read words by a whole word method, word imagery predicts ease of learning for both good and poor readers. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lexical memory in poor and normal readers: Developmental differences in the use of category cues.

Examined whether differences between poor and normal reading children on lexical memory tasks may be attributed to semantic development, using 80 2nd and 6th graders. Ss were presented with 4 lists of taxonomic categories and were asked to recall items under (a) noncued and random conditions, with Ss instructed to recall as many items as possible and (b) cued and blocked conditions, with Ss told to recall items in a category. All Ss performed better with category cues. Group differences on category recall were more reliable at Grade 6, suggesting that facility in accessing taxonomic categories may differentiate poor and normal readers more reliably at older age levels. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in syllogistic reasoning: Deduction rules or mental models?

Conducted 2 experiments to examine the correlates of reasoning ability on a syllogistic reasoning task in Ss who lacked formal background in logic, focusing on the extent to which reasoning proficiency arises from the consideration of multiple possible set relations (mental models) as opposed to explicit or implicit reliance on deduction rules. Exp I investigated whether differences between good and poor reasoners occurred early or late in the process of reasoning. 24 undergraduates, designated as good or poor readers, were presented with 16 syllogisms to solve. In Exp II, 16 good and 15 poor undergraduate reasoners and 7 graduate students who had studied logic were asked to state their initial impression of the correct conclusion to a syllogism. Overall findings reveal evidence for the use of both models and rules. Although good and poor reasoners differed even when time constraints were imposed, consistent with the supposition of a better set of rules among good reasoners, good reasoners showed more improvement and chose to take longer amounts of time when time constraints were removed, suggesting that they considered more alternatives than did the poor reasoners. A comparison between these 2 groups and Ss with experience in logic revealed striking differences in both accuracy and speed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pattern-analyzing disability in poor readers.

Conducted a study of 15 good and 22 poor readers (as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test and the vocabulary portion of the WISC), to assess Ss' encoding of semantic and graphemic features of sentences. Ss were administered a test of recognition memory for sentences. The test permitted separate analyses to be made of the graphemic pattern-analyzing skills required in reading sentences and of a more interpretive skill. Both groups of children performed about equally on tests involving language use and grammar, but the poor readers were markedly retarded in aspects of the graphemic analysis (pattern analyzing) of the texts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations among reading ability, reading mode, and recognition memory.

Based on the Profiles Reading Test, 32 2nd graders were identified as poor and 32 as good readers. Ss were then tested individually for sentence memory. Results indicate that (a) the highest percentage of recognition errors occurred for true inference sentences, (b) good readers showed superior performance on false inference and false premise sentences, and (c) silent readers made more errors than oral readers. (French summary) (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalization from categorical memory tasks to prose by learning disabled adolescents.

Investigated how 60 learning disabled ([LD] aged 12 yrs to 14 yrs 5 mo) and 20 age-matched nondisabled (NLD) Ss would transfer the use of 4 study rules from instructed materials (pictures) to a prose recall task. Four phases spread over a 3-wk period were involved: pretest, informational phase (2 lessons), individualized training (3 lessons), and posttest. Results show that LDs performed poorly relative to NLD peers at pretest on categorical picture and prose recall tasks. 20 LD Ss who received rule-only instruction and 20 LD Ss who received rule-plus-prose examples instruction surpassed 20 LD Ss in the control condition at posttest on the picture task in rule use and in recall. On the prose task, a majority of the instructed LD Ss demonstrated transfer of the instructed rules. As a group, the instructed LD Ss no longer differed observably from NLD Ss in recall or in the strategies they employed to study and to retrieve. The clinical view that LD Ss are characterized by a failure to generalize was not supported by these findings. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Echoic memory processes in good and poor readers.

Conducted 4 experiments to determine whether echoic memory plays a role in differences between good and poor readers. In Exp I, with 9 poor (mean age 11.05 yrs) and 9 good (mean age 10.9 yrs) readers, and Exp II, with 12 poor (mean age 10.85 yrs) and 12 good (mean age 10.7 yrs) readers, a suffix procedure was used in which the S was read a list of digits with either a tone control or the word go appended to the list. For lists that exceeded the length of the Ss' memory span by 1 digit (i.e., that avoided ceiling effects), poor readers showed a larger decrement in the suffix condition than did good readers. In Exp III, with 14 poor (mean age 10.64 yrs) and 14 good (mean age 10.83 yrs) readers, Ss shadowed words presented to 1 ear at a rate determined to give 75–85% shadowing accuracy. The item presented to the nonattended ear were words and an occasional digit. At various intervals after the presentation of the digit, a light signaled that the S was to cease shadowing and attempt to recall any digit that had occurred in the nonattended ear recently. Whereas good and poor readers recalled the digit equally if tested immediately after presentation, poor readers showed a faster decline in recall of the digit as retention interval increased. In Exp IV, using Ss from Exp II, bursts of white noise were separated by 9–400 msec of silence, and the S was to say whether there were 1 or 2 sounds presented. There were no differences in detectability functions for good and poor readers. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Area and volume conservation among the elderly: Assessment and training.

Conducted 2 studies to examine whether the elderly maintain the competence to adequately solve problems of logical thinking. In the 1st study the performance of 60 noninstitutionalized middle-class elderly females was assessed on area and volume conservation tasks. On overall performance only 33.3% of the Ss were classified as conservers. In the 2nd study a training paradigm was used to determine whether simple verbal feedback activated the strategies required for adequate performance on conservation tasks. 22 Ss who failed at least 2 conservation tasks in the assessment study were administered a 20-trial training procedure. Half of these Ss received simple verbal feedback following each response, while half received no feedback. Results on an immediate posttest indicated that the feedback group performed significantly better than the control group on the near transfer posttest task and on the majority of far transfer tasks. The results are discussed in terms of a distinction between competence and performance. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading ability and single-letter orthographic redundancy.

Two experiments investigated the role of one form of intraword orthographic redundancy: the characteristic asymmetric spatial distributions of letters of the alphabet across serial positions within words. In Exp I, 81 college students demonstrated recognition knowledge of these distributions when given only the letter name, word length, and serial position information with no other context. Ss were correct more often for those letters which are least variable across serial positions. In Exp II, 28 5th graders who were skilled readers demonstrated a sensitivity to letter positional distributions similar to that of the adults; 20 poor readers did not. However, performance was equivalent for both good and poor readers on a subset of letters relatively unpredictable with respect to serial position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading strategies for children and adults: A quantitative model.

Developed an additive model to account for reading times for 2 different reading tasks (reading for retention and reading for comprehension). The reading strategies of 48 college students and 64 5th graders and individual differences between fast and slow readers were examined. Ss were assumed to have processors that handle the lexical, structural, and meaning information in sentences. The various task, age, and reading speed groups were hypothesized to use the 3 processors for differing amounts of time. The model was supported by word-by-word reading times for 80 sentences and by 9 empirical indices of lexical, structural, and meaning attributes of text. Results show that for skilled adult Ss, relatively more time was spent processing structure in the retention task, and meaning in the comprehension task. Fifth graders had not fully mastered the connection between task demands and linguistic processors shown by adults, and thus used mixtures of the adult strategies. (101 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metacognitive differences between skilled and less skilled readers: Remediating deficits through story grammar and attribution training.

Designed a metacognitive intervention program to remediate the failures of 42 4th-grade boys in using metacognitive skills to aid their reading comprehension. The program consisted of 2 components: story grammar training, designed to increase comprehension monitoring; and attribution training, designed to increase awareness of effort in efficient reading. Ss were assigned to 3 groups: 1 group received both components and the other 2 groups each received one component alone. 14 skilled 4th-grade male readers served as a contrast group. Maintenance was assessed through free and probed recall; generalization was assessed through a metareading test and an error detection and correction task. Results indicate that strategy training produced dramatic gains in comprehension. Only Ss receiving attribution training alone showed poorer performance than skilled readers. Partial support was obtained for generalization on the metareading assessment. It is concluded that strategy training improved poor readers' comprehension by providing them with metacognitive skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of difficulty and diagnosticity on choice among tasks in relation to achievement motivation and perceived ability.

Replicated Y. Trope's (see record 1976-09902-001) study, by investigating the effects of 2 person characteristics (achievement motivation and perceived own ability) and 2 task characteristics (difficulty and diagnostic value about own ability) on choice among achievement tasks. Ss were 104 male high school students. In accordance with the results of Trope, it was found that high-diagnostic tasks were preferred to low-diagnostic tasks, independent of their difficulty. Trope's finding that high resultant achievers choose high-diagnostic tasks over low-diagnostic tasks to a greater extent than low resultant achievers was not replicated. The perceived degree of own ability affected choice behavior: When easy and difficult tasks were both high in diagnosticity, Ss high in perceived ability preferred difficult over easy tasks, whereas Ss low in perceived ability preferred easy over difficult tasks. It is concluded that a self-informational conception of choice behavior has to include the subjective probability of success at tasks as a determinant of choice, in addition to objective difficulty and diagnostic value. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metalinguistic differences among three kinds of readers.

We identified two types of poor readers and compared them with each other and with a comparable group of good readers for their performance on a series of metalinguistic tasks. We showed the specific problem underlying each of the two types of poor readers to be related to two separable components of metalinguistic skill. We use the results of the study to argue that global analyses of reading and metalinguistic skills are not adequate for understanding either the structure of each skill or the relation between them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)