ABSTRACT
Experimental psychologists have been interested in reading research for more than 30 years. It was readily recognized that reading is a complex cognitive skill based on a number of different functions and components. For instance, upon presentation of a printed word, we can immediately understand its meaning, e.g. in silent reading, and we can sound it out if asked to do so, e.g. in reading aloud. However, we can read aloud words that we have not seen before, including novel (although pronounceable) combinations of letters. We can also decide whether or not a given letter string is a real word. Because reading is the result of a complex cognitive activity, one main thrust of reading research has been directed towards fractionating the reading process into several subcomponents.
