Abstract of Project Funded for FY 1999
| Covert Reading Behavior of Deaf Native American Sign Language Users
Peter Hauser, Psychology This study will investigate Deaf readers’ phonological processing from a cognitive perspective. Previous studies have shown that native Deaf American Sign Language users who are better readers rely on phonological encoding even though their encoding strength is not always as strong as hearing readers. It is hypothesized in this study that although phonological encoding occurs while deaf and hard of hearing individuals read written materials, the phonetics involved in the encoding is different. Twenty Deaf and 20 hearing undergraduates will be given a serial order recall task with labial and nonlabial words while an electromyogram (EMG) will record the covert behavior of their mouth area during presentation and prerecall delay. Subjects will also administered a serial position test to measure their level of phonological encoding and reading achievement test will also be administered. Results are expected to demonstrate that: (a) covert reading behavior is evident in both groups; (b) phonetic encoding strength and reading achievement is positively correlated with covert reading behavior of the mouth area; and (c) Deaf readers will exhibit covert reading behavior in the mouth area that is qualitative different than hearing readers, demonstrating that the phonetic properties of the phonological encoding is different for hearing and Deaf students. |