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Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
Visual word recognition without central attention: evidence for greater automaticity with greater reading ability
Eric Ruthruff1, Philip A Allen, Mei-Ching Lien
1Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA. ruthruff@unm.edu
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|May 21, 2008
Summary
Skilled readers automatically recognize words even when focusing on another task. This visual word recognition automaticity allows better readers to perform lexical processes in parallel with other attention-demanding tasks.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Reading Science
Background:
- Visual word recognition is a fundamental cognitive process.
- Automaticity in cognitive tasks allows for parallel processing.
- Individual differences in reading skill may influence cognitive automaticity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate individual differences in the automaticity of visual word recognition.
- To determine if word recognition can occur outside of central attention.
- To examine the relationship between reading skill and automaticity.
Main Methods:
- A dual-task paradigm was employed, combining a lexical decision task (Task 2) with a concurrent primary task (Task 1).
- Task 1 involved either auditory or visual stimuli.
- Participants' reading skill was assessed using the Nelson-Denny Reading Test.
Main Results:
- Individuals with high reading scores demonstrated parallel processing of Task 2 (word recognition) with Task 1.
- Individuals with low reading scores did not show parallel processing; Task 2 was hindered by Task 1.
- The modality of Task 1 did not affect the observed differences in automaticity.
Conclusions:
- Higher lexical skill correlates with greater automaticity in visual word recognition.
- Automaticity enables skilled readers to perform lexical tasks concurrently with other attention-demanding activities.
- Reading proficiency influences the capacity for parallel cognitive processing.
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