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With the Developmental Lexicon Project (DeveL), we present a large-scale study that was conducted to collect data on visual word recognition in German across the lifespan. A total of 800 children from Grades 1 to 6, as well as two groups of younger and older adults, participated in the study and completed a lexical decision and a naming task. We provide a database for 1,152 German words, comprising behavioral data from seven different stages of reading development, along with sublexical and lexical characteristics for all stimuli. The present article describes our motivation for this project, explains the methods we used to collect the data, and reports analyses on the reliability of our results. In addition, we explored developmental changes in three marker effects in psycholinguistic research: word length, word frequency, and orthographic similarity. The database is available online. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

In the present study we focus on the component processes of reading comprehension in adolescents. To accomplish this we applied the component processes task (CPT, Hannon & Daneman, 2001) in two connected studies to assess higher-level reading comprehension processes and the cognitive-components-resource (CC-R, Hannon, 2012) model to structure the pattern of relationships between word-level and higher-level processes, working memory, and reading comprehension. Our results indicate that the component processes of reading comprehension can be differentiated in German speaking adolescents and that approaches such as the CC-R are suitable for modeling individual differences in their comprehension processes. The pattern of relationships between processes and cognitive resources was found to be comparable between girls and boys as well as L1 and L2 German speakers, although mean differences were found in both comparisons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This study investigated the relations between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5–8) and their students. Teachers' instructional behaviors and students' engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures were assessed by means of student ratings. Teachers' beliefs about using texts with instructional pictures in their teaching were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that the more teachers believed that students should be taught clear strategies on how to learn from texts with instructional pictures the more engagement was reported by their students. A multilevel mediation model showed that the association between teachers’ beliefs and students' self-reported engagement was mediated by teachers' perceived instructional behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

Children have been found to use units such as syllables and morphemes in fine-grained reading processes, before they transition to a coarse-grained, holistic route. Which units they prefer at different stages in reading development is unresolved. The present study compares the use of syllables and morphemes. Second graders, fourth graders, and adults performed a lexical decision task on multimorphemic and monomorphemic words and pseudowords that were visually disrupted either syllable-congruent or syllable-incongruent (i.e., morpheme-congruent in multimorphemic items). Syllables turned out to be the preferred unit of fine-grained processing for second graders, while fourth graders also used morphemes when morphemes were emphasized by the presentation format. Moreover, the study supports the assumption that children rely more on fine-grained processing, while adults have more coarse-grained processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

Children in transition from kindergarten to school develop fundamental skills important for the acquisition of reading and writing. Previous research pointed toward substantial correlations between specific language- and music-related competencies as well as positive transfer effects from music on pre-literacy skills. However, until now the relationship between diverse music and language competencies remains unclear. In the present study, we used a comprehensive approach to clarify the relationships between a broad variety of language and music skills on different levels, not only between but also within domains. In order to do so, we selected representative language- and music-related competencies and systematically compared the performance of N = 44 5- to 7-year-old children with a control group of N = 20 young adults aged from 20 to 30. Competencies were organized in distinct levels according to varying units of vowels/sounds, words or syllables/short melodic or rhythmic phrases, syntax/harmony and context of a whole story/song to test for their interrelatedness within each domain. Following this, we conducted systematic correlation analyses between the competencies of both domains. Overall, selected competencies appeared to be appropriate for the measurement of language and music skills in young children with reference to comprehension, difficulty and a developmental perspective. In line with a hierarchical model of skill acquisition, performance on lower levels was predictive for the performance on higher levels within domains. Moreover, correlations between domains were stronger for competencies reflecting a similar level of cognitive processing, as expected. In conclusion, a systematic comparison of various competencies on distinct levels according to varying units turned out to be appropriate regarding comparability and interrelatedness. Results are discussed with regard to similarities and differences in the development of language and music skills as well as in terms of implications for further research on transfer effects from music on language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

We investigated whether beginning bilingual readers activate orthographic as well as semantic representations in both of their languages while reading in one of them. Balanced bilingual third graders who were learning to read concurrently in German and English completed two lexical decision tasks, one in each language, including cognates, false friends, and matched control words. Results showed a processing advantage for cognates over controls in both languages, indicating that the facilitation effect is driven by the level of balanced language proficiency rather than by experience with print. Except for lower accuracy scores in German, false friends did not differ in their processing from controls, pointing to the presence of semantic-to-orthographic feedback already in the beginning of reading acquisition. Confirming assumptions by the bilingual interactive activation plus (BIA+) model as well as the revised hierarchical model (RHM), findings suggest that in their strategy to resolve orthographic ambiguity, balanced bilingual children are more comparable to bilingual adults than to child second-language (L2) learners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

Various initiatives have recently been launched to attract more teachers with immigrant backgrounds, under the assumption that they are better equipped to teach in multicultural contexts. However, whether teachers differ in their professional competence to cater for students with immigrant backgrounds has not yet been empirically established, and it remains unclear whether any such differences would be attributable to the teachers' own immigration background. Based on the COACTIV model of teachers' professional competence, and drawing on a sample of 433 trainee teachers with and without immigrant backgrounds, this study (a) investigated trainee teachers' enthusiasm, self-efficacy. and prejudices with respect to teaching students with immigrant backgrounds and (b) tested whether the relationship between immigration background and these variables was mediated by multicultural beliefs. Results from structural equation modeling confirmed that multicultural beliefs had an indirect effect: participants with immigrant backgrounds reported higher multicultural beliefs which were in turn associated with higher self-efficacy and enthusiasm and lower levels of prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

In this study, we looked at masked morphological priming effects in German children and adults beyond mean response times by taking into account response time distributions. We conducted an experiment comparing suffixed word primes (kleidchen-KLEID), suffixed nonword primes (kleidtum-KLEID), nonsuffixed nonword primes (kleidekt-KLEID), and unrelated controls (träumerei-KLEID). The pattern of priming in adults showed facilitation from suffixed words, suffixed nonwords, and nonsuffixed nonwords relative to unrelated controls, and from both suffixed conditions relative to nonsuffixed nonwords, thus providing evidence for morpho-orthographic and embedded stem priming. Children also showed facilitation from real suffixed words, suffixed nonwords, and nonsuffixed nonwords compared to unrelated words, but no difference between the suffixed and nonsuffixed conditions, thus suggesting that German elementary school children do not make use of morpho-orthographic segmentation. Interestingly, for all priming effects, a shift of the response time distribution was observed. Consequences for theories of morphological processing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

Multiple choice (MC)-items are a frequently employed format used to measure reading comprehension.. In a study with 366 students we replicate the finding of Rost and Sparfeldt (2007) who found that MC-items can be solved without reading the relevant text in German. In addition, we show that responses to MC reading comprehension items with available text are influenced both by general verbal resources, as well as processes required to generate text coherence. This suggests that MC-items do also measure reading specific comprehension processes. Our results also indicate that similar processes are used to answer MC-items when the relevant text is not available. The measurement of these processes, however, becomes increasingly unreliable when text information is reduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

The developmental trajectory of the use of morphemes is still unclear. We investigated the emergence of morphological effects on visual word recognition in German in a large sample across the complete course of reading acquisition in elementary school. To this end, we analyzed lexical decision data on a total of 1,152 words and pseudowords from a large cross-sectional sample of German children from the beginning of Grade 2 through 6, and a group of adults. We expand earlier evidence by (a) explicitly investigating processing differences between compounds, prefixes and suffixes, (b) taking into account vocabulary knowledge as an indicator for interindividual differences. Results imply that readers of German are sensitive to morphology in very early stages of reading acquisition with trajectories depending on morphological type and vocabulary knowledge. Facilitation from compound structure comes early in development, followed by facilitation from suffixes and prefixes later on in development. This indicates that stems and different types of affixes involve distinct processing mechanisms in beginning readers. Furthermore, children with higher vocabulary knowledge benefit earlier in development and to a greater extent from morphology. Our results specify the development and functional role of morphemes as reading units. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

In this article we present a new method for estimating children’s total vocabulary size based on a language corpus in German. We drew a virtual sample of different lexicon sizes from a corpus and let the virtual sample 'take' a vocabulary test by comparing whether the items were included in the virtual lexicons or not. This enabled us to identify the relation between test performance and total lexicon size. We then applied this relation to the test results of a real sample of children (grades 1–8, aged 6 to 14) and young adults (aged 18 to 25) and estimated their total vocabulary sizes. Average absolute vocabulary sizes ranged from 5900 lemmas in first grade to 73,000 for adults, with significant increases between adjacent grade levels except from first to second grade. Our analyses also allowed us to observe parts of speech and morphological development. Results thus shed light on the course of vocabulary development during primary school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

This paper provides a summary of the main issues that arose in the final 'Discussion' session at the Volkswagen Workshop on Developmental Eye-tracking Research in Reading held in Hannover, Germany, October 2013. The Workshop focused on eye movement research investigating reading development, that is, change in reading performance with age. Development was considered both in relation to children as they changed from novice to more efficient readers, as well as change in reading performance in older adult readers, usually associated with a decline in reading efficiency. The final Discussion session provided an opportunity for attendees to comment on, discuss, and debate any issues that arose in the meeting that they felt were important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Many low-skill readers have problems with visual word recognition. In particular, low-skill readers show a substantial nonword reading deficit that is attributed to deficits in sub-lexical processing. In this study, I examined whether the nonword deficits of German 14-year-old low-skill readers were associated with inefficient use of multi-letter information. In a lexical-decision experiment, words and nonwords were presented in standard format and in MiXeD cAsE format which has been shown to be especially disrupting for sub-lexical processing. When the stimuli were presented in standard format, low-skill readers showed a substantial nonword reading deficit, that is they were generally slower than high-skill readers, but had special problems with decoding nonwords. However, when stimuli were presented in MiXeD cAsE, low- and high-skill readers showed equal impairments in nonword processing. This finding indicates that low-skill readers do not use context-sensitive multi-letter rules during phonological assembly in normal reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Abstract Investigating the impact of linguistic characteristics on visual word recognition in children, we studied whether differences in native (L1) and second language (L2) processing already emerge at the beginning of reading development. German elementary school students in grades 2 to 6 completed a battery of standardized tests and a lexical decision task (LDT). Though L1 speakers outperformed L2 speakers on German skills, groups did not differ in their overall performance on the LDT. However, results from mixed-effect models revealed greater effects for word frequency and length in L2 over L1 speakers, indicating qualitative differences in the sensitivity to linguistic information between groups. This distinction persisted across all grades and after controlling for differences in vocabulary size and reading fluency. Findings extend evidence provided for adult L2 processing, suggesting that varying language exposure shapes the development of the word-recognition system already in the early stages of reading development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

Teachers' diagnostic skills are important prerequisites for the planning, delivery, and evaluation of lessons. Learning materials incorporating instructional pictures are the basis for lessons in many subjects. Against this background, the present study investigated the levels and correlations of teachers' diagnostic skills in the area of text-picture integration, potential teacher- or material-specific moderator variables, as well as determinants of the diagnostic process. Participants were 116 teachers with 48 grade 5 to 8 classes in different school types. Teachers' diagnostic skills were found to be weak to moderate, with teachers tending to underestimate their students' performance. Heterogeneous patterns of results emerged for correlations with pedagogical content knowledge and teaching experience, and overall difficulty estimates were found to be relevant in addition to task-specific judgments within the diagnostic process. Implications for practice and further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Extending our understanding of the interplay between visual and cognitive processes during reading is essential to understand how reading develops and changes across the lifespan. Monitoring readers' eye movements provides a fine-grained online protocol of the reading process as it evolves over time, but until recently eye movements have rarely been collected for young developing and ageing people. Developmental eye-tracking constitutes an emerging and innovative field that addresses various theoretical questions related to changes in the process of reading across the lifespan and the mechanisms that drive intra-individual trajectories and create inter-individual differences among readers. The aim of this editorial is to briefly summarise the current state of the field and to outline which questions are currently being investigated and presented in this Special Issue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

We investigated lexical decision making in children and adults by analyzing spatiotemporal characteristics of responses involving a hand movement. Children’s and adults’ movement trajectories were assessed in three tasks: a lexical decision task (LDT), a pointing task that involved minimal cognitive processing, and a symbol task requiring a simple binary decision. Cognitive interference on motor performance was quantified by analyzing movement characteristics in the LDT and symbol task relative to the pointing task. Across age groups, movements in the LDT were less smooth, slower, and more strongly curved to the opposite response option, and these interference effects decreased steadily with age. Older children showed stronger interference effects than did adults, even though their reaction times were similar to adults’ performance. No comparable effects were found in the symbol task, indicating that task characteristics such as response mapping and decision selection alone are not able to explain the developmental differences observed in the LDT. Our results indicate substantial overlap between cognitive processing and motor execution in the LDT in children that is not captured by computational models of visual word recognition and cognitive development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Phonological and orthographic information has been shown to play an important role in parafoveal processing in skilled adult reading in English. In the present study, we investigated whether similar parafoveal effects can be found in children using the boundary eye tracking method. Children and adults read sentences in German with embedded target nouns which were presented in original, pseudohomophone (PsH), transposed-letter (TL), lower-case and control conditions to assess phonological and orthographic preview effects. We found evidence of PsH preview benefit effects for children. We also found TL preview benefit effects for adults, while children only showed these effects under specific conditions. Results are consistent with the developmental view that reading initially depends on phonological processes and that orthographic processes become increasingly important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The question how agent and patient roles are assigned to causal participants has largely been neglected in the psychological literature on force dynamics. Based on the linguistic theory of Dowty (1991), we propose that agency is a prototype concept. We adapted Dowty's theory to account for scenarios showing physical interactions. In the standard Michotte launching scenario the ball entering the scene is usually assigned the agent role, whereas the ball that is being launched is viewed as the patient. We showed in two experiments that agency intuitions were moderated by manipulations of the context prior to the launching event. Altering features such as relative movement, sequence of visibility, and self-propelled motion tended to increase agency attributions to the patient relative to the standard scenario. We suspect that shifts in figure-ground perceptions, and intuitions about characteristics of interventions may be the overarching reason for the efficacy of the tested criteria.