Psychology of Reading

Reading is the process by which individuals decode a written language. Readers must translate from a written language (an ‘orthography’) to the underlying sound-based components (the ‘phonology’). Learning to read involves knowledge of the phonetic structure of language, and skilled reading requires hundreds of hours of practice. Beginning readers rely on the process of phonological mediation, the sounding out of letters and words. Skilled readers can access the words directly and phonological mediation plays a smaller role. Two types of dyslexia (acquired and developmental) are discussed, with several possible causes explored.