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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 17, 2025

Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks

Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks

Published on: September 5, 2019

Phonological working memory and linguistic processing speed in inferential reading comprehension.

Daniela Balonyi Candal¹, Clara Regina Brandão de Avila²

¹Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. candal@unifesp.br.

Psicologia, Reflexao E Critica : Revista Semestral Do Departamento De Psicologia Da UFRGS

|July 1, 2025

Summary

Phonological working memory and linguistic processing speed both predict reading comprehension in 5th graders. Semantic verbal fluency specifically mediates how working memory impacts reading comprehension.

Keywords:

Elementary school Mental processes Processing speed Reading comprehension Working memory

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Published on: June 25, 2019

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Educational Psychology

Background:

Phonological working memory is a key predictor of reading comprehension in children.
The role of processing speed and its interaction with working memory in reading comprehension requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether phonological working memory predicts inferential reading comprehension, mediated by linguistic processing speed.
To examine the independent and combined predictive power of working memory and processing speed on reading comprehension.

Main Methods:

Analysis of data from 66 typical 5th-grade students.
Assessment of phonological memory (digit span Backward and Forward tasks).
Measurement of language processing speed (Verbal Fluency and Rapid Automated Naming).
Evaluation of inferential reading comprehension.

Main Results:

Both phonological working memory and cognitive-linguistic processing speed significantly predicted inferential reading comprehension.
Mediation analysis indicated that rapid automatized naming and working memory independently predicted reading comprehension.
Working memory (digit span Forward and Backward) and rapid automatized naming together predicted inferential reading comprehension.

Conclusions:

Linguistic processing speed, specifically semantic verbal fluency, mediates the relationship between phonological working memory and inferential reading comprehension.
These findings highlight the interconnectedness of memory, processing speed, and reading comprehension in elementary students.