Reading comprehension is an active inferential process. Three experiments are described in which the possibility was examined that highly probable inferences are drawn, even when they are unnecessary for comprehension. (Author/RM)

A variable time delay naming latency paradigm was used to investigate the processing of noun-verb lexical ambiguities (e.g., "watch") in syntactic contexts that biased either the noun or the verb reading. Results support a two-stage model in which all reading of ambiguous words are initially accessed, followed by suppression of…

Three experiments explored whether recoding to speech during reading occurs before or after lexical access, or not at all. Tests determined the effects of a concurrent shadowing task on lexical information retrieval. Results indicate a model of reading in which speech recoding occurs after lexical access, with temporary word storage. (CHK)

Two experiments were conducted to test how readers process unattended words in a display and how the semantic category of these flanking words affects response time. (Author/AM)

Fast and average readers were tested on four tasks. Fast readers appear to pick up more information per fixation on structured textual material, and had a greater span of apprehension for unrelated elements. Results disagree with the view that reading speed depends solely on ability to infer missing information. (CHK)

Comprehensibility ratings and sentence-by-sentence reading times of three-sentence narratives (triples) were studied as a function of the coherence of a triple. In both experiments, reading times did not differ for first sentences, but were longer for third sentences of unrelated than for related triples. (Author/RM)

This study deals with the patterns of word-by-word reading times over a sentence when the subject must code the linguistic information sufficiently for immediate verbatim recall. A class of quantitative models is considered that would account for reading times at phrase breaks. (Author/RM)

Three experiments were conducted to examine the relations between retrieval and encoding in a levels-of-processing framework. (Author/RM)

This research investigates the role of speech recoding, particularly its relationship to meaning analysis during reading. Experiment I documents a speech processing conflict; Experiment II analyzes this conflict; and Experiment III demonstrates contributions of speech and meaning processes to reading memory. Results are related to three classes of…

Reports on three experiments that: (1) extend the findings of Scarborough et al. (1977) that exposure to single words facilitates lexical judgments of single words, and (2) suggest that recency of exposure may contribute to word "frequency" effects in reading and in learning from written material. (Author/AM)

Reports on a study of word recognition in second grade, fourth grade, sixth grade, and college students, which investigated characteristics of word processing (holistic versus component) at various stages of reading development. (AM)