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Rapid serial naming and reading ability: the role of lexical access

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Abstract

Rapid serial naming tasks are frequently used to explain variance in reading skill. However, the construct being measured by rapid naming is yet undetermined. The Phonological Processing theory suggests that rapid naming relates to reading because of similar demands of access to long-term stored phonological representations of visual stimuli. Some researchers have argued that isolated or discrete-trial naming is a more precise measure of lexical access than serial naming, thus it is likely that any shared variance between these two formats can be attributed to similar lexical access demands. The present study examined whether there remained any variance in reading ability that could be uniquely explained by the rapid naming task while controlling for isolated naming. Structural equation modeling was used to examine these relations within the context of the phonological processing model. Results indicated that serial naming uniquely predicted reading, and the relation was stronger with isolated naming controlled for, suggesting that isolated naming functioned as a suppressor variable in the relation of serial naming with reading.

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Acknowledgments

One of the authors (J. A. R. Logan) received pre-doctoral training support during the conduct of this research through grant R305B04074 from the Institute of Education Sciences to Florida State University. Support for writing this article has been provided by Grant P50 HD052120 from NICHD.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 1107 W. Call St., Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4301, USA

    Jessica A. R. Logan, Christopher Schatschneider & Richard K. Wagner

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  1. Jessica A. R. Logan
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  2. Christopher Schatschneider
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  3. Richard K. Wagner
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Correspondence to Jessica A. R. Logan.

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Logan, J.A.R., Schatschneider, C. & Wagner, R.K. Rapid serial naming and reading ability: the role of lexical access. Read Writ 24, 1–25 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9199-1

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