Relationships Between Word Decoding Speed, General Name-Retrieval Ability,

A discrete-trial reaction time methodology was employed in order to measure the speed with which skilled and less-skilled readers named colors, pictures, numbers, letters, and words. Words were the only stimulus type that the skilled readers named more rapidly. The equality of naming times for colors, pictures, and numbers suggests that a general name retrieval deficit, suggested by earlier studies of dyslexic children, does not appear to be characteristic of less-skilled nondyslexic children. Instead, the marked word decoding speed difference, in conjunction with the lack of a letter naming difference between the two groups, supports previous research that has suggested that phonologi-cal analysis skills may be important determinants of early reading acquisi-tion. Does a general ability to respond rapidly to symbolic stimuli differentiate skilled from less-skilled readers? Such a question is of current relevance due to several recent the-oretical and empirical developments in the psychology of reading. It is the case that researchers of vastly different theoretical persuasions (e.g., LaBerge & Samuels, 1974; Smith & Holmes, 1971) all agree that words must be processed rapidly in order for fluent reading to occur. There is ample empirical evidence documenting the fact that skilled readers name words faster than less-skille