The increase in studies of the interaction of readers' prior knowledge systems with language cues in print has been a significant trend in reading research. Current research questions reflect the belief that the prior knowledge systems of readers are a principal determinant of what a reader can learn and remember from text. Cognitive style…

WORD PERCEPTION IS DISCUSSED NOT AS A MECHANICAL TOOL BUT AS A THINKING PROCESS. HOW INDIVIDUALS PERCEIVE PRINTED FORMS DEPENDS ON THE STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR READING ABILITIES. THE BEGINNING READER PROCEEDS ON THE BASIS OF WORD FORMS HE RECOGNIZES AS WHOLES. LATER HE USES CONTEXT AND PICTURE CLUES, VERBAL CONTEXT, GENERAL CONFIGURATIONS,…

This paper considers the implications for rhetorical studies of recent research and theory on hemispheric functions. After discussing differences between the functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain, these differences are related to metaphor (which is seen as propositional in nature) and synecdoche (which is seen as appositional).…

In discussing the relationship between cognitive development (perception, pattern recognition, and memory) and reading processes, this paper especially emphasizes developmental factors. After an overview of some issues that bear on how written language is processed, the paper presents a discussion of pattern recognition, including general pattern…

Claims that the way people symbolize their experiences in speaking, listening, and writing can help them to understand literature and, ultimately, their personal life experiences. Claims that making meaning is fundamental to all language learning and that reading literature is analogous to other language learning experiences. (JD)

Highlights ways in which standard information processing models of language, and specifically of reading, are deficient. Deficiencies are considered under four headings: (1) theoretical rigour, (2) the interaction of different levels of information during reading; (3) the parallel nature of much of human information processing, and (4) reading…

Develops three lines of reasoning relating to the proposition that performance in reading, after the basic decoding skills are mastered, is primarily an indicator of the general level of the individual's thinking and reasoning processes rather than a set of distinct and specialized skills. (TO)

Applies a taxonomy to a review of the methods used to study mental processes in reading that divides the methods into simultaneous or successive and obtrusive or unobtrusive; the taxonomy proved useful in describing encoding and memory processes. (AEA)

Argues that metacognition gives a framework for understanding earlier studies on the relationship between reading rate and text characteristics and points toward an explanation for reading flexibility. (FL)

Investigated the nature of orthographic representations accessed during reading, as well as the relationship between reading and spelling representations using additional evidence to that based on normal reading and spelling performance. (Author/VWL)

What form is the lexical phonology that gives rise to phonological effects in visual lexical decision? The authors explored the hypothesis that beyond phonological contrasts the physical phonetic details of words are included. Three experiments using lexical decision and 1 using naming compared processing times for printed words (e.g., plead and…

Memory-based and constructionist processes have both been proposed as essential components of the activation of concepts (e.g., propositions) and the establishment of meaningful connections between concepts during reading. In this article, we argue that a comprehensive theory of reading comprehension should include both sets of processes. In…

In this article, we discuss 2 issues that we believe any theory of discourse comprehension has to take account of-accessing irrelevant information and granularity. Along the lines that have been suggested as demonstrating the memory-based account, we describe some work in favor of the recruitment of apparently irrelevant information from memory…

This study examined the effects of assisted-repeated reading on four first-grade students whose reading ability varied (a special education student, a non-classified poor reader, an English Language Learner (ELL) student, and a general education student) to determine if an assisted-repeated reading intervention is differentially effective for…