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Matthew Effects in Reading

Stanovich begins his article by exploring the problems with the existing evidences on

the issue. The author observes that for many years, research on individual differences was

plagued by the failure to carry out thorough process analyses on the experimental tasks

employed (Stanovich, 1986, p. 361). Researches on cognitive psychology have made it clear

that one can never come to a comprehensive conclusion regarding performance difference in

reading based on observation of a single task. As such studies on the cognitive processes on

reading need to take into account the casual and reciprocal relationships among variables.

The author argues that an effective model of the development of individual differences in

reading should give primary importance to phonological awareness as it is the most

significant predictor in reading success even though cognitive functioning such as nonverbal

intelligence, vocabulary, and listening comprehension facilitate the development of reading

skills. This emphasises the significance of phonological awareness tasks rather than general

intelligence tests or reading readiness tests. One should also bear in mind that there is a

reciprocal causative relationship between phonological awareness and reading acquisition.

Children during their early reading stages need to grasp the spelling to sound code which will

promote independent decoding in the long run.

The researcher and his colleagues employed a longitudinal research design to test the

hypothesis that poor readers do not rely on context to facilitate word recognition. The study

conducted by the researchers among the first graders in the fall and Spring showed that at a

comparable level ofcontext free decoding ability the recognition efficiency scores of the

less skilled readers actually displayed somewhat more contextual facilitation than those of the

skilled readers (Stanovich, 1986, p. 371-72). This shows that the skilled readers have better

context-free decoding efficiency and superior prediction abilities. Stanovich considers the

Phenomenon of Word Calling as an inappropriate reading strategy as no semantic

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activation takes place in the reader. The consequences of reading history and practice also

exert great influence on reading skill acquisition.

The longitudinal research designs and the reading level match designs employed by

the author for the purpose of the study answer the research question to a certain extent and

keep the doors open for further researches as to the strategies by which the reading

disabilities of the poor readers can best be addressed.