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Do Everyday Reading Activities PromoteAdults' Cognitive Development?
M Cecil SmithKenneth S. ElliottKim M. HutchinsonDepartment of Educational Psychology,Counseling, & Special EducationNorthern Illinois UniversityDeKalb, IL 60115Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL,October 14, 1994Running head: READING ACTIVITIES
DRAFT: Do not quote without permission.
 
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Do Everyday Reading Activities PromoteAdults' Cognitive Development?
AbstractIt has been widely assumed that reading bestows cognitive benefits, but there is little empirical evidence tosupport this assumption. Recent research has demonstrated that it is likely that adults' who read acquire certaincognitive advantages over non-readers. Our study examined the relationship between everyday reading practicesand cognitive abilities in more detail. Adults kept a structured diary, the
 Reading Activity Method 
, and recordedtheir reading practices for a five-day period. They also completed several tasks deemed to be measures of cognitiveabilities. Comparisons were made between high-exposure and low-exposure readers on the cognitive tasks todetermine the effects of reading practice on cognitive ability. No differences were found. However, given therobust nature of our volunteer sample, the dependent measures may not be sensitive enough to discern differencesin adult readers' cognitive abilities. Nonetheless the
 Reading Activity Method 
offers great potential fordetermining principles of expertise regarding reading practices among literate adults.
 
3Interest in the everyday reading activities of literate adults has a lengthy history in the study of thepsychology of literacy (Gray & Monroe 1929; Gray & Rogers, 1956; Guthrie & Greaney, 1991). This interest hasmanifested itself in studies which examine how adults use their literacy skills in order to accomplish a variety of tasks that involve reading, such as acquiring knowledge, relaxing with leisure activities, solving work-relatedtasks, and becoming informed, participating citizens. Other studies have examined the extent of, and variabilityin, adults’ everyday reading activities (Guthrie, Seifert, & Kirsch, 1986). This research has not been concerned,however, with determining if any relationship exists between reading practices and cognitive growth.Although it is widely assumed that reading bestows cognitive benefits (i.e., "the more you read, the moreyou know"), there is little empirical evidence available which verifies this assumption (West, Stanovich, &Mitchell, 1993). Keith Stanovich and his colleagues have conducted a series of clever studies testing what hascome to be known as the exposure hypothesis. Their view is that widespread
exposure to print 
results in cognitivegains which can be measured through a relatively simple methodology involving recognition of information (e.g.,authors of popular books) found in print sources, such as magazines, novels, and books.West et al. (1993) administered several such measures to 217 adults who were identified, throughnaturalistic observation in an airport waiting area, as readers (i.e., were observed to read, while waiting, for 10consecutive minutes) or nonreaders (i.e., did not read while waiting). Observed subjects were then approached andasked to complete the checklists. Persons judged to be readers significantly outperformed nonreaders on measuresassociated with reading (e.g., author, magazine, and newspaper recognition tasks). There were no differences onmeasures of exposure to TV or movies. Also, readers were superior to nonreaders on vocabulary and generalknowledge measures; these differences held even after the effects of age and education were removed via regressionanalyses. These findings demonstrate that simply being a reader makes a difference in terms of enhancing theindividual's literacy skills. Note, however, that there was no evidence as to the extent of the readers' engagementin reading practices on a regular, daily basis.Based upon Stanovich's research paradigm, we are currently carrying out a study which examines therelationship between everyday reading practices and cognitive abilities. In this study, adults keep a structureddiary of their reading practices for a five-day period. The reading diaries make it possible to examine readingpractices in far greater detail than in the West et al. investigation, and to distinguish between high- and low-activity readers on a variety of measures. In addition, Ss completed several of the recognition tasks developed byStanovich et al. Comparisons were then made between high-activity and low-activity readers on the recognitiontasks to determine the effects of practice on cognitive ability.Our previous research (Smith & Stahl, 1993) used essentially the same data collection methodology as inthe current study and examined (a) the effects of context (e.g., work, school, leisure) on adults' reading practicesand (b) educational and occupational differences in reading practices. Study 1, however, did not examine thehypothesized relationship between reading practices and cognitive growth. Findings from the current study wereanticipated to both confirm the findings from Study 1 and provide further insights into the relationship betweenreading and cognitive development in adulthood.
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