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. 2014;18(5):325-346.
doi: 10.1080/10888438.2014.902461. Epub 2014 Apr 28.

The Contribution of Attentional Control and Working Memory to Reading Comprehension and Decoding

C Nikki Arrington  1 , Paulina A Kulesz  1 , David J Francis  1 , Jack M Fletcher  1 , Marcia A Barnes  2
Affiliations

The Contribution of Attentional Control and Working Memory to Reading Comprehension and Decoding

C Nikki Arrington et al. Sci Stud Read. 2014.

Abstract

Little is known about how specific components of working memory, namely, attentional processes including response inhibition, sustained attention, and cognitive inhibition, are related to reading decoding and comprehension. The current study evaluated the relations of reading comprehension, decoding, working memory, and attentional control in 1,134 adolescent students. Path analyses were used to assess the direct and indirect effects of working memory and aspects of attentional control on reading comprehension and decoding. There were significant direct effects of working memory, sustained attention, and cognitive inhibition on reading comprehension, but not decoding. There was a significant direct effect of working memory and response inhibition on decoding, but not comprehension. These results suggest that different aspects of attentional control are important for decoding versus comprehension.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Sample stimuli from Stop Signal Paradigm measuring response inhibition and sustained attention.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Sample stimuli for double block trial with interference from the Verbal Proactive Interference task measuring cognitive inhibition. Note. Gray blocks represent visual stimuli presented on the computer screen. White blocks represent auditory stimuli presented either via the computer or by the examiner.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Path model representing response inhibition as a moderator of the relation between working memory and decoding, and cognitive inhibition and sustained attention as moderators of relation between working memory and reading comprehension. Note. GMRC = Gates–MacGinitie Reading Tests Comprehension; TOWRE = Test of Word Reading Efficiency; Age = age in years; WJIIINR = Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities Numbers Reversed; SSRT = Stop Signal reaction time; SSINT = Stop Signal inattention; VPI = Verbal Proactive Interference. Solid lines represent statistically significant effects. Dashed lines represent effects that are not statistically significant.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Path model representing response inhibition as a moderator of the relation between working memory and reading comprehension, and cognitive inhibition and sustained attention as moderators of relation between working memory and decoding. Note. GMRC = Gates–MacGinitie Reading Tests Comprehension; TOWRE = Test of Word Reading Efficiency; Age = age in years; WJIIINR = Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities Numbers Reversed; SSRT = Stop Signal reaction time; SSINT = Stop Signal inattention; VPI = Verbal Proactive Interference. Solid lines represent statistically significant effects. Dashed lines represent effects that are not statistically significant.
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