Performance in a visual search task uniquely predicts reading abilities in third-grade Hong Kong Chinese children

This study examined the relation between the performance in a visual search task and reading ability in 92 third-grade Hong Kong Chinese children. The visual search task, which is considered a measure of visual-spatial attention, accounted for unique variance in Chinese character reading after controlling for age, nonverbal intelligence, vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and rapid automatized naming. Visual search skill also explained unique variance in reading comprehension after further controlling for Chinese character reading. The findings of the present study underscore the importance of visual-spatial attention for Chinese reading, at both the character and text levels. Copyright © 2015 Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.