Deprivation, context, and processing of textual materials

Levy's (1983) familiarization and proofreading paradigm was used to examine the context-processing relationship during reading of Hindi textual materials. Sixty high- and 60 low-deprived male students in Classes 11 and 12 were asked to proofread error-filled passages of easy and difficult text. Familiarity was manipulated by presenting error-free versions of the passages to some subjects but not to others for a single reading before their actual proofreading. Familiar passages were processed faster than unfamiliar passages irrespective of students' deprivation and passage difficulty. Slow processing was recorded for highly deprived subjects and for easy passages. Faster processing was associated with higher error detection and higher short-term retention scores, whereas the opposite was true for slower processing. Familiarity enhanced short-term retention, suggesting some involvement of conceptually driven process even after familiarization. Findings are discussed in light of interactive processing models of reading.