ABSTRACT

The development of educational psychology as a discipline can be seen to parallel the history of the study of reading. Several pioneers in educational psychology, including Edward L. Thorndike (1917), Charles Judd (Judd & Buswell, 1927), and E. B. Huey (1908) were interested in the psychology of reading because they recognized that it provides an avenue for understanding human cognition. Educa­ tional psychologists’ interests in reading have, however, been largely devoted to studies of the development of children’s reading comprehension skills (Venezky, 1985). Because educational psychologists have traditionally been perceived as conducting their work in schools where they can apply psychological findings to educational problems in grades K -1 2 (Grinder, 1981), adult reading has only occasionally occupied the attention of educational psychologists. The purpose of this chapter is to outline some of the things that educational psychologists have learned about the nature of adults’ reading skills and the behaviors that contribute to the development of these skills, and to describe areas for further educational psychology research in adult reading.