Early spelling acquisition: Writing beats the computer.

Previous research has demonstrated the superiority of a Simultaneous Oral Spelling method for young children beginning to learn to spell words. In this technique, children learn words by repeating a word spoken and written for them, writing the word while pronouncing the name of each letter, and then repeating the whole word again. In two experiments, we manipulated the motoric element of this training and obtained results indicating that having first-grade children write words leads to better spelling performance than having the children type them on a computer or manipulate letter tiles to spell them. The superiority of handwriting was maintained even under conditions where post-training spelling assessment was done on the computer and with tiles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge growth and maintenance across the life span: The role of print exposure.

One hundred thirty-three college students (mean age?=?19.1 years) and 49 older individuals (mean age?=?79.9 years) completed 2 general knowledge tasks, a vocabulary task, a working memory task, a syllogistic reasoning task, and several measures of exposure to print. A series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that when measures of exposure to print were used as control variables, the positive relationships between age and vocabulary, and age and declarative knowledge, were eliminated. Within each of the age groups, exposure to print was a significant predictor of vocabulary and declarative knowledge even after differences in working memory, general ability, and educational level were controlled. These results support the theory of fluid-crystallized intelligence and suggest a more prominent role for exposure to print in theories of individual differences in knowledge acquisition and maintenance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using children's literacy activities to predict growth in verbal cognitive skills: A longitudinal investigation.

Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children participated in a 2-year longitudinal study to determine the predictive validity of the Title Recognition Test (TRT) and the Author Recognition Test (ART), 2 checklist measures of individual differences in exposure to print. Multiple regression analyses confirmed the ability of the TRT to predict growth in receptive vocabulary, general information, spelling, sight vocabulary, verbal fluency, and reading comprehension even after controlling for age, recognition memory, and previous performance in the same cognitive competency area. The ART was found to be a less robust predictor. Although correlational, our results suggest that print exposure may be an independent contributor to cognitive growth in the verbal domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Regularity effects and the phonological deficit model of reading disabilities: A meta-analytic review.

This article presents a meta-analysis of spelling-to-sound regularity effects in individuals with reading disabilities and reading-level comparison groups. The phonological-deficit model of reading disabilities, coupled with the classic dual-route model of word recognition, has led to two predictions: (a) a specific deficit in the pseudoword reading of those with reading disabilities and (b) an absent or reduced regularity effect for those with reading disabilities relative to reading-level controls. Previous reviews confirm the first prediction. The present meta-analysis tested the second prediction. There was a clear effect of word regularity for individuals with reading disabilities, the magnitude of which did not differ from the word regularity effect for reading-level controls. The authors explore how the contradictory support for these 2 predictions is inconsistent with classic dual-route models of word reading and how connectionist models are consistent with the empirical findings on reading disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early reading acquisition and its relation to reading experience and ability 10 years later.

A group of 1st-graders who were administered a battery of reading tasks in a previous study were followed up as 11th graders. Ten years later, they were administered measures of exposure to print, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and general knowledge. First-grade reading ability was a strong predictor of all of the 11th-grade outcomes and remained so even when measures of cognitive ability were partialed out. First-grade reading ability (as well as 3rd- and 5th-grade ability) was reliably linked to exposure to print, as assessed in the 11th grade, even after 11th-grade reading comprehension ability was partialed out, indicating that the rapid acquisition of reading ability might well help develop the lifetime habit of reading, irrespective of the ultimate level of reading comprehension ability that the individual attains. Finally, individual differences in exposure to print were found to predict differences in the growth in reading comprehension ability throughout the elementary grades and thereafter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The domain specificity and generality of disjunctive reasoning: Searching for a generalizable critical thinking skill.

The domain specificity and generality of an important critical thinking skill was examined by administering 9 reasoning and decision-making tasks to 125 adults. Optimal performance on all of the tasks required that disjunctive processing strategies--strategies requiring the exhaustive consideration of all of the possible states of the world--be adopted. Performance across these disjunctive reasoning tasks displayed considerable domain specificity, but 5 of the tasks displayed moderate convergence. Cognitive ability was associated with performance on only 3 of 9 tasks. Six of the 9 tasks displayed associations with 1 of 2 cognitive styles that were examined in the multivariate task battery (need for cognition and reflectivity). Performance on the 5 tasks that displayed some domain generality was also more associated with thinking styles than with cognitive ability in several regression analyses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple indicators of children's reading habits and attitudes: Construct validity and cognitive correlates.

63 5th-grade children completed daily-activity diaries indicating how they spent their nonschool time for 15 days. From these diaries, estimates of the minutes per day that were spent in various activities were derived. The estimate of book-reading time from the activity diary correlated with new measures of individual differences in exposure to print that use a checklist-with-foils logic and that have very brief administration times. Both diary-estimated and checklist-estimated book reading predicted a variety of verbal outcome measures, but estimates of television watching did not. Multiple regression and factor analysis confirmed the convergent and discriminant validity of a construct argued to be best conceived of as nonschool print exposure that appears to be measured as well by the checklist tasks as by the activity-diary method. In contrast, certain types of questionnaire methods of assessing reading habits and attitudes appear to assess the extent of general positive attitudes toward reading rather than the degree of print exposure itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reasoning independently of prior belief and individual differences in actively open-minded thinking.

A sample of 349 college students completed an argument evaluation test (AET) in which they evaluated arguments concerning real-life situations. A separate regression analysis was conducted for each student predicting his or her evaluations of argument quality from an objective indicator of argument quality and the strength of his or her prior beliefs about the target propositions. The beta weight for objective argument quality was interpreted in this analysis as an indicator of the ability to evaluate objective argument quality independent of prior belief. Individual differences in this index were reliably linked to individual differences in cognitive ability and actively open-minded thinking dispositions. Further, actively openminded thinking predicted variance in AET performance even after individual differences in cognitive ability had been partialled out. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Input capability and speed of processing in mental retardation" by Saccuzzo, Kerr, Marcus, and Brown.

In a recent article, D. P. Saccuzzo et al (see record 1979-33941-001) claimed to have demonstrated that retarded individuals have specific deficits in iconic storage duration and encoding speed. It is argued that problems with the logic and methodology of their experiment preclude the conclusions that were drawn. The present authors elucidate some of the methodological pitfalls in this research area. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)