Execution of Lexical and Conceptual Processes in Sentence Comprehension among Adult Readers as a Function of Literacy Skill

ABSTRACT Little is known about conceptual integration processes and their contributions to memory representations that are constructed in sentence comprehension among adults with underdeveloped literacy skills. We measured word-by-word reading time to examine variation of responsiveness to demands of lexical and conceptual processing during sentence comprehension in a sample of adults with reading proficiency ranging from 4th grade through college-level. Relative to those of their more skilled counterparts, the reading times of adults with lower levels of literacy skill were more sensitive to word-level features, but showed a reduced lengthening at sentence-final words (“wrap up”), which has been argued to reflect conceptual integration processing. They also showed poorer sentence memory. However, regardless of literacy level, readers with better overall sentence memory engaged in a reading strategy marked by a larger sentence wrap-up effect. These findings suggest a pathway to intervention for struggling adult readers.

摘要：对于识字技能不发达的成年人在句子理解过程中所构建的概念整合过程及其对记忆表征的贡献，我们知之甚少。我们测量了逐字阅读时间，以检验阅读熟练程度从四年级到大学水平的成年人样本在句子理解过程中对词汇和概念处理需求的反应差异。与阅读技能更强的人相比，识字技能水平较低的成年人的阅读时间对单词层面的特征更为敏感，但在句末单词（“收尾”）处的阅读时间延长幅度较小，而这种延长被认为反映了概念整合处理。他们还表现出较差的句子记忆能力。然而，无论识字水平如何，整体句子记忆较好的读者都采用一种以较大的句子收尾效应为特征的阅读策略。这些发现为帮助有阅读困难的成年读者提供了一种干预途径。