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Automaticity, Automatization and Dyslexia

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Dyslexia: Advances in Theory and Practice

Part of the book series: Neuropsychology and Cognition ((NPCO,volume 16))

Abstract

Although automaticity as a theoretical concept has been subject to debate and evolution, there seems to be little doubt that it plays an important role in the development of basic skills like reading. It is fair to state that automaticity is the key feature of skilled reading. As a consequence, learning to read may be interpreted as learning how to automatise word recognition skills. The reason why it is important is well expressed by Adams (1990, p. 228–229): “Human attention is limited. To understand connected text, our attention cannot be directed to the identities of individual words and letters. In reading as in listening, the process of individual word perception must proceed with relative automaticity, and such automaticity is afforded only through learning.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Aryan van der Leij

  2. Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Victor van Daal

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  1. Aryan van der Leij
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  2. Victor van Daal
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

    Ingvar Lundberg

  2. Center for Reading Research, Stavanger, Norway

    Finn Egil Tønnessen  & Ingolv Austad  & 

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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van der Leij, A., van Daal, V. (1999). Automaticity, Automatization and Dyslexia. In: Lundberg, I., Tønnessen, F.E., Austad, I. (eds) Dyslexia: Advances in Theory and Practice. Neuropsychology and Cognition, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4667-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4667-8_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5967-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4667-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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