Orthographic and Word-specific Mechanisms in Children's Reading of Words

BARON, JONATHAN. Orthographic and Word-specific Mechanisms in Children's Reading of Words. CmILD DEVELOPMENT, 1979, 50, 60-72. 3 experiments show differences among children in relative reliance on spelling-sound rules versus word-specific associations in reading words. Ability to read nonsense words (e.g., lut) is correlated more highly with ability to read regular words (cut) than with ability to read exception words (put). Children also differ in their tendencies to make meaning-preserving errors as opposed to errors involving overgeneralization of spellingsound rules to exception words. Children who rely more on rules are more slowed by reading 2 successive words with the same spelling pattern pronounced differently (maid, said). The tendency to rely on rules as opposed to word-specific associations is correlated with ability to read regular words. Individual differences appear to arise largely from differences in instruction, although there are also consistent sex differences (boys tend to rely more on rules). In experiment 3, performance on nonsense words is improved by instruction to think of analogous words. This finding, plus others, indicates that both analogies and smaller-unit rules are used to apply rules.