Word Properties Predicting Children’s Word Recognition

The effects of training in letter-sound correspondences and phonemic decoding (segmenting and blending skills) on three kindergartners' word recognition abilities were examined using a single-subject multiple-baseline design across behaviors and subjects. Whereas CVC pseudowords were trained, generalization to untrained CVC pseudowords, untrained CVC real words, untrained CV and VC pseudowords, and untrained CV and VC real words were assessed. Generalization occurred to all of the untrained constructions for two of the three subjects. The third subject did not show the same degree of generalization to VC pseudowords and real words; however, after three training sessions, this subject read all VC constructions with 100% accuracy. Findings are consistent with group training studies that have shown the benefits of decoding training on word recognition and spelling skills and with studies that have demonstrated the effects of generalization to less complex structures when more complex structures are trained.

Download Full-text

What Are the Functional Orthographic Units in Chinese Word Recognition: The Stroke or the Stroke Pattern?

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A ◽

10.1080/027249896392423 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 1024-1043 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Y. P. Chen ◽

D. A. Allport ◽

J. C. Marshall

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Chinese Word

Download Full-text

Does Viotin Activate Violin More Than Viocin?

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000223 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 23-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Manuel Perea ◽

Victoria Panadero

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Visual Word Recognition ◽

Developmental Dyslexia ◽

Computational Models ◽

Error Rates ◽

Visual Word ◽

Base Word ◽

Similar Response ◽

Skilled Readers ◽

Young Readers

The vast majority of neural and computational models of visual-word recognition assume that lexical access is achieved via the activation of abstract letter identities. Thus, a word’s overall shape should play no role in this process. In the present lexical decision experiment, we compared word-like pseudowords like viotín (same shape as its base word: violín) vs. viocín (different shape) in mature (college-aged skilled readers), immature (normally reading children), and immature/impaired (young readers with developmental dyslexia) word-recognition systems. Results revealed similar response times (and error rates) to consistent-shape and inconsistent-shape pseudowords for both adult skilled readers and normally reading children – this is consistent with current models of visual-word recognition. In contrast, young readers with developmental dyslexia made significantly more errors to viotín-like pseudowords than to viocín-like pseudowords. Thus, unlike normally reading children, young readers with developmental dyslexia are sensitive to a word’s visual cues, presumably because of poor letter representations.

Download Full-text

The Sound of Enemies and Friends in the Neighborhood

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000113 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 58 (6) ◽

pp. 454-463 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Diane Pecher ◽

Inge Boot ◽

Saskia van Dantzig ◽

Carol J. Madden ◽

David E. Huber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Visual Word Recognition ◽

Neighborhood Effects ◽

Classification Performance ◽

Visual Word ◽

Orthographic Neighborhood ◽

Semantic Classification ◽

Semantic Class ◽

Orthographic Neighbors ◽

Target Words

Previous studies (e.g., Pecher, Zeelenberg, & Wagenmakers, 2005) found that semantic classification performance is better for target words with orthographic neighbors that are mostly from the same semantic class (e.g., living) compared to target words with orthographic neighbors that are mostly from the opposite semantic class (e.g., nonliving). In the present study we investigated the contribution of phonology to orthographic neighborhood effects by comparing effects of phonologically congruent orthographic neighbors (book-hook) to phonologically incongruent orthographic neighbors (sand-wand). The prior presentation of a semantically congruent word produced larger effects on subsequent animacy decisions when the previously presented word was a phonologically congruent neighbor than when it was a phonologically incongruent neighbor. In a second experiment, performance differences between target words with versus without semantically congruent orthographic neighbors were larger if the orthographic neighbors were also phonologically congruent. These results support models of visual word recognition that assume an important role for phonology in cascaded access to meaning.

Download Full-text