Unmasking individual differences in adult reading procedures by disrupting holistic orthographic perception

Abstract

Word identification is undeniably important for skilled reading and ultimately reading comprehension. Interestingly, both lexical and sublexical procedures can support word identification. Recent cross-linguistic comparisons have demonstrated that there are biases in orthographic coding (e.g., holistic vs. analytic) linked with differences in writing systems, such that holistic orthographic coding is correlated with lexical-level reading procedures and vice versa. The current study uses a measure of holistic visual processing used in the face processing literature, orientation sensitivity, to test individual differences in word identification within a native English population. Results revealed that greater orientation sensitivity (i.e., greater holistic processing) was associated with a reading profile that relies less on sublexical phonological measures and more on lexical-level characteristics within the skilled English readers. Parallels to Chinese procedures of reading and a proposed alternative route to skilled reading are discussed.

Culture is not destiny, for reading: highlighting variable routes to literacy within writing systems

“…When comparing high-and low-sensitivity readers matched in word knowledge and sentence comprehension in an overt word-reading task, high-sensitivity readers' reading speed was more affected by length than that of lowsensitivity readers when words were inverted. 71 The authors interpreted this finding as support for the idea that, among distortion-sensitive readers, visual distortion leads to the requirement for a more effortful sublexical approach in word identification, leading to longer reading times for longer words. The fact that the length effect for atypically oriented words was larger for readers sensitive to distortion suggests that they are less efficient at utilizing the sublexical/analytical approach and typically rely on a more holistic/lexical reading procedure.…”

“…Behavioral investigation of distortion‐sensitive readers has supported the hypothesis that they should show less reliance on phonological or sublexical processing and a weaker connection between phonological decoding skill and overall word reading or comprehension relative to non–distortion‐sensitive readers. When comparing high‐ and low‐sensitivity readers matched in word knowledge and sentence comprehension in an overt word‐reading task, high‐sensitivity readers’ reading speed was more affected by length than that of low‐sensitivity readers when words were inverted 71 . The authors interpreted this finding as support for the idea that, among distortion‐sensitive readers, visual distortion leads to the requirement for a more effortful sublexical approach in word identification, leading to longer reading times for longer words.…”

“…Other individuals have no inherent deficits in phonological processing yet display some similar patterns in reading procedures to those who do. These include native English readers biased toward an attentional focus on larger units of orthographic analysis (newly termed orientation-sensitive or, more generally, distortion-sensitive readers 71 ) and Chinese-English bilinguals (Table 2). The second dimension along which the four subgroups vary is whether English is their native language.…”

“…Lastly, recent exploratory research has identified a subgroup of skilled native English readers with striking neural and behavioral similarities to the previous three subgroups. 71,146 The discovery of distortion-sensitive readers was inspired by a desire to understand understudied individual differences in the laterality of the VWFA of readers within a writing system: English. Although the general trend is for readers of alphabets to have a strong left lateralization of the VWFA, considerable variability in VWFA laterality had also been observed, including among alphabetic readers without apparent phonological difficulties 53,[147][148][149] Based on patterns observed in the broader literature reviewed in this paper, it was hypothesized that atypical and more bilateral VWFA engagement in English could be a sign of a more holistic approach to reading, which the position of English in the middle of the transparency spectrum affords.…”

“…Lastly, recent exploratory research has identified a subgroup of skilled native English readers with striking neural and behavioral similarities to the previous three subgroups 71,146 . The discovery of distortion‐sensitive readers was inspired by a desire to understand understudied individual differences in the laterality of the VWFA of readers within a writing system: English.…”