The role of morphology in learning to read written words

Abstract

This thesis investigates morphological processing in reading, examining morphology’s role in linking print to meaning within alphabetic systems. It suggests that developing readers’ systems become increasingly attuned to morphological regularities through accumulated reading experience. The findings underscore that the automatic activation of these structures is crucial in transitioning from novice to expert reader. Additionally, the efficacy of remote online testing for psycholinguistic research is evaluated, a vital aspect given the shifts towards online methodologies. A systematic review (Chapter 2) of 90 studies across Indo-European languages reveals the complexities of morphological processing, influenced by item-specific and reader-specific factors such as structure, frequency, age, grade, and reading ability. This overview sets the stage for the empirical studies that follow. Experiment 1 (Chapter 3) tests the replication of morphological and pseudomorphological priming effects online, confirming that morphological effects are replicable remotely, while pseudomorphological effects are not, likely due to variabilities in online data collection. This outcome highlights the need to select appropriate paradigms for remote testing. Experiments 2 and 3 (Chapter 4) investigate the morpheme interference effect in both adults and adolescents, demonstrating that increased reading skills and greater suffix familiarity significantly enhance the morpheme interference effect, indicating that reading experience facilitates morpho-orthographic decomposition. Experiment 4 (Chapter 5) explores whether induced suffix familiarity can enhance morphological interference, attempting to establish a causal link between suffix experience and morpho-orthographic processing. The findings suggest that one-session exposure is not as effective in enhancing suffix learning as prolonged reading experiences are. Overall, this thesis expands our understanding of morphological processing and its developmental progression during an underexplored period, adolescence. It also offers insights into the methodological considerations of conducting psycholinguistic research remotely