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The Development of the Missing-Letter Effect Revisited
Annie Roy-Charland1, Marie-Michelle Collin1, Jacques Richard1
1School of Psychology, Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Experimental Psychology
|January 19, 2023
Summary
Children as young as 6-7 years show a word function effect in the missing-letter effect, while frequency effects emerge later in development. This study clarifies the roles of word frequency and function in reading development.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- The missing-letter effect occurs when a target letter is missed more often in frequent function words than in less frequent content words.
- While word frequency and function are known influences, their developmental trajectories are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental impact of word frequency and word function on the missing-letter effect.
- To clarify discrepancies in existing literature through better-controlled stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Two hundred sixteen participants across five age groups (6-7 years to university students) completed a reading comprehension task.
- Participants identified a target letter within experimental texts, allowing for analysis of letter omissions.
Main Results:
- A significant missing-letter effect was observed across all age groups, with more omissions in frequent function words.
- When frequency was controlled, a word function effect (more omissions in function words) was evident from 6-7 years.
- When word function was controlled, a frequency effect was significant only for adults and 8-year-olds.
Conclusions:
- Word function influences the missing-letter effect from early childhood (6-7 years).
- The impact of word frequency on this effect becomes significant later in development.
- Rigorous control of stimuli is crucial for accurately interpreting findings on reading development.
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