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Psychological research, including research into adult reading, is frequently based on convenience samples of undergraduate students. This practice raises concerns about the external validity of many accepted findings. The present study seeks to determine how strong this student sampling bias is in literacy and numeracy research. We use the nationally representative cross-national data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies to quantify skill differences between (i) students and the general population aged 16-65, and (ii) students and age-matched non-students aged 16-25. The median effect size for the comparison (i) of literacy scores across 32 countries was d = .56, and for comparison (ii) d = .55, which exceeds the average effect size in psychological experiments (d = .40). Numeracy comparisons (i) and (ii) showed similarly strong differences. The observed differences indicate that undergraduate students are not representative of the general population nor age-matched non-students.

In studying the relationship between word recognition and reading development, a distinction is made between analytic and holistic processing of words. These strategies are often assessed in a length effect in an alphabetic language or in a stroke-number effect in a logographic language. Analytical processing is associated with a robust length or stroke-number effect while holistic processing is reflected in smaller or a lack of such effects. Research has shown that skilled readers employ holistic processing while less skilled readers rely more on analytical processing. The present study examined analytic versus holistic word recognition among second language learners by comparing learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) and Chinese native speakers (NSs) in a lexical decision task. Thirty Chinese NSs and 28 CSL learners were tested on 90 disyllabic Chinese words that varied in stroke number from 5 to 27. A robust stroke-number effect was found among CSL participants but not among NS controls. The findings raised a number of theoretical and pedagogical issues in relation to word recognition and reading development among CSL learners and among second language learners in general. (Verlag).

Comprehensive models of learning disorders have to consider both isolated learning disorders that affect one learning domain only, as well as comorbidity between learning disorders. However, empirical evidence on comorbidity rates including all three learning disorders as defined by DSM-5 (deficits in reading, writing, and mathematics) is scarce. The current study assessed prevalence rates and gender ratios for isolated as well as comorbid learning disorders in a representative sample of 1633 German speaking children in 3rd and 4th Grade. Prevalence rates were analysed for isolated as well as combined learning disorders and for different deficit criteria, including a criterion for normal performance. Comorbid learning disorders occurred as frequently as isolated learning disorders, even when stricter cutoff criteria were applied. The relative proportion of isolated and combined disorders did not change when including a criterion for normal performance. Reading and spelling deficits differed with respect to their association with arithmetic problems: Deficits in arithmetic co-occurred more often with deficits in spelling than with deficits in reading. In addition, comorbidity rates for arithmetic and reading decreased when applying stricter deficit criteria, but stayed high for arithmetic and spelling irrespective of the chosen deficit criterion. These findings suggest that the processes underlying the relationship between arithmetic and reading might differ from those underlying the relationship between arithmetic and spelling. With respect to gender ratios, more boys than girls showed spelling deficits, while more girls were impaired in arithmetic. No gender differences were observed for isolated reading problems and for the combination of all three learning disorders. Implications of these findings for assessment and intervention of learning disorders are discussed.

A long tradition of research including classical rhetoric, esthetics and poetics theory, formalism and structuralism, as well as current perspectives in (neuro)cognitive poetics has investigated structural and functional aspects of literature reception. Despite a wealth of literature published in specialized journals like Poetics, however, still little is known about how the brain processes and creates literary and poetic texts. Still, such stimulus material might be suited better than other genres for demonstrating the complexities with which our brain constructs the world in and around us, because it unifies thought and language, music and imagery in a clear, manageable way, most often with play, pleasure, and emotion (Schrott and Jacobs, 2011). In this paper, I discuss methods and models for investigating the neuronal and cognitive-affective bases of literary reading together with pertinent results from studies on poetics, text processing, emotion, or neuroaesthetics, and outline current challenges and future perspectives.

This review of research examines the constructs of reading motivation and synthesizes research findings of the past 20 years on the relationship between reading motivation and reading behavior (amount, strategies, and preferences), and the relationship between reading motivation and reading competence (reading skills and comprehension). In addition, evidence relating to the causal role of motivational factors and to the role of reading behavior as a mediator of the effects of motivation on reading competence is examined. We identify seven genuine dimensions of reading motivation: curiosity, involvement, competition, recognition, grades, compliance, and work avoidance. Evidence for these dimensions comes from both quantitative and qualitative research. Moreover, evidence from previous studies confirms the positive contribution of intrinsic reading motivation, and the relatively small or negative contribution of extrinsic reading motivation, to reading behavior and reading competence. The positive contribution of intrinsic motivation is particularly evident in relation to amount of reading for enjoyment and reading competence and holds even when accounting for relevant control variables. However, the causal role of reading motivation and the mediating role of reading behavior remain largely unresolved issues.

Parental engagement plays a key role in children’s future success. We implemented a behaviorally informed field experiment designed to increase the time parents spend using a digital library on an electronic tablet to read to their children. Behavioral tools—reminders, goal setting, and social rewards—more than doubled the amount of time parents spent reading using the electronic application (one standard deviation effect size) after the six-week intervention. The largest gains were for the most present-oriented parents. Our findings suggest substantial promise for the application of behavioral tools to parenting activities that promote investment in children’s human capital.

Single-atom memory Efficient, high-fidelity storage and exchange of quantum information between light and an optical quantum memory is essential for long-distance quantum communication, quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. Stephan Ritter and colleagues demonstrate the most fundamental implementation of such a quantum memory, mapping arbitrary polarization states of light into and out of single atoms trapped inside an optical cavity. The high fidelity (93%) and relatively long qubit coherence time of this atomic memory make it a versatile quantum node, with excellent prospects for applications in optical quantum gates and quantum repeaters. The faithful storage of a quantum bit (qubit) of light is essential for long-distance quantum communication, quantum networking and distributed quantum computing 1 . The required optical quantum memory must be able to receive and recreate the photonic qubit; additionally, it must store an unknown quantum state of light better than any classical device. So far, these two requirements have been met only by ensembles of material particles that store the information in collective excitations 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 . Recent developments, however, have paved the way for an approach in which the information exchange occurs between single quanta of light and matter 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 . This single-particle approach allows the material qubit to be addressed, which has fundamental advantages for realistic implementations. First, it enables a heralding mechanism that signals the successful storage of a photon by means of state detection 14 , 15 , 16 ; this can be used to combat inevitable losses and finite efficiencies. Second, it allows for individual qubit manipulations, opening up avenues for in situ processing of the stored quantum information. Here we demonstrate the most fundamental implementation of such a quantum memory, by mapping arbitrary polarization states of light into and out of a single atom trapped inside an optical cavity. The memory performance is tested with weak coherent pulses and analysed using full quantum process tomography. The average fidelity is measured to be 93%, and low decoherence rates result in qubit coherence times exceeding 180 microseconds. This makes our system a versatile quantum node with excellent prospects for applications in optical quantum gates 17 and quantum repeaters 18 .

Using original, representative survey data, we document that analytical, routine, and manual job tasks can be measured with high validity, vary substantially within and between occupations, are significantly related to workers’ characteristics, and are robustly predictive of wage differences between occupations and among workers in the same occupation. We offer a conceptual framework that makes explicit the causal links between human capital endowments, occupational assignment, job tasks, and wages, which motivate a Roy model of the allocation of workers to occupations. We offer two simple tests of the model’s gross predictions for the relationship between tasks and wages, both of which receive qualified empirical support.

Mind wandering is a drift of attention away from the physical world and towards our thoughts and concerns. Mind wandering affects our cognitive state in ways that can foster creativity but hinder productivity. In the context of learning, mind wandering is primarily associated with lower performance. This study has two goals. First, we investigate the effects of text semantics and music on the frequency and type of mind wandering. Second, using eye-tracking and electrodermal features, we propose a novel technique for automatic, user-independent detection of mind wandering. We find that mind wandering was most frequent in texts for which readers had high expertise and that were combined with sad music. Furthermore, a significant increase in task-related thoughts was observed for texts for which readers had little prior knowledge. A Random Forest classification model yielded an F 1 -Score of 0.78 when using only electrodermal features to detect mind wandering, of 0.80 when using only eye-movement features, and of 0.83 when using both. Our findings pave the way for building applications which automatically detect events of mind wandering during reading.