Print exposure across the reading life span

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Leisure reading is a main contributor to print exposure, which is in turn related to individual differences in reading and language skills. The Author Recognition Test (ART) is a brief and objective measure of print exposure that has been used in reading research since the 1990s. Life span studies have reported contradicting results concerning age differences in print exposure, possibly due to the use of ART versions that differed regarding authors’ mean publication year. We investigated effects of participant age and authors’ mean publication year, literary level, and circulation frequency on author recognition probability between adolescence and old age (N = 339; age 13–77 years). An explanatory item response analysis showed that participant age and circulation frequency were positively related to recognition probability. Mean publication year was negatively related to recognition probability, indicating that recent authors who have been widely read for only a few years were less often recognized than classic authors who have been widely read for several decades. The relation between participant age and recognition probability was moderated by author variables. For classic authors, the recognition probability increased between adolescence and old age. By contrast, for recent authors, the recognition probability increased only between adolescence and middle age. Our results suggest that the mean publication year is a key author variable for the detection of print exposure differences between young, middle-aged and older adults. We discuss implications for author selection when updating the ART and for measuring print exposure in age-diverse samples.

Original languageEnglish
JournalReading and Writing
Volume33
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)1423-1441
Number of pages19
ISSN0922-4777
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.06.2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).

    Research areas

  • Author Recognition Test, Explanatory item response analysis, Life span, Print exposure, Reading
  • Educational science

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Merle Strigl

Publications

  1. In vivo degradation of binary magnesium alloys - A long-term study
  2. Ästhetische Klangforschung
  3. Alienation, The Social Individual, and Communism
  4. How Organizing Matters for Societal Grand Challenges
  5. Sprechen über zu schreibende Texte
  6. Vegan labeling for what is already vegan
  7. The User-Journey in Online Search
  8. Monitor
  9. Systematic study of the effect of non-uniform seal stiffness on the contact stress in flat-faced soft-seated spring operated pressure relief valves
  10. "Manchmal tut es weh, darüber zu reden…“ -
  11. Impacts of species richness on productivity in a large-scale subtropical forest experiment
  12. IEA SHC Task 42 / ECES Annex 29 WG A1
  13. Brief / Briefformular
  14. Cross-cultural understanding
  15. The Return of the Plague of Ornaments
  16. Weitblick statt Glaskugel?
  17. Joint production and responsibility in ecological economics
  18. Soil and tree species traits both shape soil microbial communities during early growth of Chinese subtropical forests
  19. Der Titelrekognitionstest für das Vorschulalter (TRT-VS)
  20. Douglas-fir seedlings exhibit metabolic responses to increased temperature and atmospheric drought
  21. "Zwei-Kämpfen" von Anfang an
  22. Deliberative attention management
  23. Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)
  24. Temporal changes in vertebrates during landscape transformation
  25. Preliminary data on help‐seeking intentions and behaviors of individuals completing a widely available online screen for eating disorders in the United States
  26. Führung in Heterarchien
  27. Special aspects of TIMSS related to mathematical education
  28. Interkulturelle Differenzen im Selbstkonzept von Managern
  29. Decentralized planning and control for assembly areas driven by Gentelligent® parts
  30. Adjustment of deferred compensation schemes, fairness concerns, and hiring of older workers
  31. Политика-как-вещь vs политика-как-структура
  32. Reflections from five associate editors on their role in the journal and on its future directions
  33. The development of social care work in Germany and the US: theorising the result of cultural understandings and policy responses to concepts of ‘individualism’ during the nineteenth century
  34. Fatigue behaviour of multi-spot joints of 2024-T3 aluminium sheets obtained by refill Friction Stir Spot Welding with polysulfide sealant
  35. Introducing VISU
  36. The European Commission’s Expert Groups