For decades, explanations for why some children struggle with reading have often focused on two factors: intelligence and the ability to process visual information. Children who read easily have frequently been assumed to be more intelligent, while those who struggle have sometimes been viewed as less capable. Another common belief is that reading difficulties arise primarily from problems interpreting the words and letters on a page.
However, a major new study challenges these assumptions, suggesting that the abilities most important for reading success may be very different from what many people expect.
Dr. Daniel Hajovsky, an associate professor in Texas A&M University's Department of Educational Psychology, led one of the most extensive investigations to date into how cognitive abilities relate to reading performance. The research brought together scientists from the University of Kansas, St. John's University, Montclair State University and Temple University to examine which mental skills best predict reading development and why some children encounter difficulties.
To investigate these relationships, the researchers combined 50,000 correlations drawn from 137 cognitive and achievement test batteries into a single statistical model. This large-scale approach allowed them to assess the contribution of individual mental abilities to reading performance while also helping clarify why previous studies had sometimes produced conflicting conclusions.
Source: ScienceDaily - Psychology — Read the full article on the original site ↗