Three Studies of Predicted Gender Differences in Processes of Word Reading

ABSTRACT

Three studies were conducted to examine individual differences among young children in the extent of use of alternative cognitive processes for word reading. The expectation was that boys, of the same reading attainment level as girls, tend to rely more than girls on access to phonological segments of words. In Study I a predicted pattern of gender differences was tested with 87 seven-year-old children reading pseudohomophones graphemicalty different and graphemically similar to lexically matched words. In Study II predicted differences were tested with the same children reading words of regular and exception grapheme-phoneme relationships. For 84 six-year-old children in Study III predicted differences were examined in the relationship of word reading accuracy to phonological consistency of initial segments of words. The results of the three studies supported the expectation.