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All letters are not equal: subgraphemic texture in orthographic working memory
Angela C Jones1, Jocelyn R Folk, Brenda Rapp
1Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|October 28, 2009
Summary
The sound-spelling frequency of letters within digraphs impacts spelling accuracy. Less frequent sound-letter mappings make letters more vulnerable to errors, affecting orthographic working memory.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Understanding letter-sound consistency is key to reading and spelling research.
- The role of subgraphemic elements in written language processing is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how sound-spelling frequency of letters within digraphs affects spelling accuracy.
- To provide evidence for the influence of sublexical mappings on orthographic representations.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted: one with individuals with neurological damage affecting orthographic working memory (O-WM), and another with neurologically intact skilled spellers under dual-task conditions.
- Orthographic working memory (O-WM) was disrupted using neurological damage or a dual-task shadowing paradigm during spelling.
Main Results:
- Letters within digraphs showed differential susceptibility to errors when O-WM was disrupted.
- Segments with lower sound-letter convergence (less frequent mappings) were more vulnerable to disruption, even when controlling for other factors.
Conclusions:
- Sound-spelling frequency of subgraphemic elements influences spelling accuracy.
- Individual letters possess varying activation strengths, impacting their susceptibility to errors in orthographic processing.
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