Reading between the Lines: Selective Attention in Good and Poor Readers

Abstract

WIuLows, DALE M. Reading between the Lines: Selective Attention in Good and Poor Readers. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 408-415. This research compared the abilities of good and poor readers to attend selectively in a reading situation. 26 blocks of Ss (sixth-grade boys) matched on age and IQ participated in the test phase of the experiment. Each block consisted of 4 Ss, 2 good readers and 2 poor readers. 1 good and 1 poor reader from each block were randomly assigned to selective and control reading conditions, respectively. In the control condition, the reading passages were simply double-spaced and typed in black. In the selective reading condition, the same black passages were employed, but red words were typed between the lines. The most interesting finding of the research was that, relative to control performance, gocld readers in the selective reading condition made more comprehension errors that were intrusions from the red lines than did poor readers. These results were interpreted as lending support to an analysis-by-synthesis model of reading for meaning.