Auditory and Visual Selective Attention and Reading Ability
Richardson, Brian Eurus
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/65964
Description
Title
Auditory and Visual Selective Attention and Reading Ability
Author(s)
Richardson, Brian Eurus
Issue Date
1980
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Special
Language
eng
Abstract
While selective attention has been the subject of a considerable number of research studies, comparatively few of those studies have examined that variable in relation to reading ability. Similarly there is a dearth of studies looking at selective attention in both auditory and visual modalities.
In this study 96 subjects were involved, 48 from Grade Three and 48 from Grade Six. Subjects were selected for participation according to their reading scores in the Metropolitan Achievement Test. At each grade level 16 subjects were selected from each of three percentile ranges on that test - the 20-39 range, the 50-69 range, and the 80-99 range. Subjects were required to (a) read, silently, a grade level passage while ignoring intrusion words typed in red, and (b) listen to female voice reading a grade level passage while ignoring intrusion words spoken by a male voice. After a series of multiple choice comprehension questions, checks were made to establish whether subjects had ignored the intrusion material.
The four principal findings of this study were - (1) good readers displayed better selective attention abilities than did poor readers; (2) in the visual area embedded intrusion material was more distracting than was peripheral intrusion material; (3) auditory intrusion material was more difficult to ignore then visual intrusion material; (4) poor readers performed at least as well on auditory material as they did on visual material.
The results of the research are discussed both in the terms of their implications for the teacher, and in terms of selective attention theory.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
