Presentation modality and taxonomic category as encoding dimensions for good and poor readers.

Abstract

The asymmetrical release from proactive inhibition found in poor readers on the modality dimension (auditory to visual: no release; visual to auditory: slight release) by Farnham-Diggory and Gregg (1975) was not obtained when two critical control groups were included. On a Wickens' release from proactive inhibition task, both good and poor readers in grades 4,5, and 6 showed a build-up of inhibition across the first group of trials and a release on the last trial with a shift in modality of presentation when the comparison was between a shift and a no-shift group on the last trial, as suggested by Wickens (1972), and with a shift in taxonomic category. There were also no differences between groups on a recognition of presentation modality task. Both good and poor readers, therefore, store information indicating whether a word was heard or seen and information concerning a word's category membership.