Irregular word and pseudoword spelling dissociate after controlling for year group, consistent with distinct lexical and sublexical processes¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr3·q3·i3large
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i3 Irregular word spelling correlated more strongly with regular word spelling (r = .76) than with pseudoword spelling (r = 0.54), and the difference was significant. → Niolaki 2022
Evidence¶
Niolaki 2022¶
Niolaki, G., Vousden, J., Terzopoulos, A., Shepherd, D.-L., Debney, L., & Masterson, J. (2022). Spelling predictors; investigating the role of phonological ability and rapid naming in a large cross-sectional British study. Learning and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2022.101635
q3 · i3 · associational · r3
Partial correlations controlling for year group among 641 children's spelling scores; the printed correlation difference between irregular–regular (r = .76) and irregular–pseudoword (r = 0.54) was tested with z = 6.79, p = .001.
"irregular word spelling had stronger associations with regular word spelling (r = .76) than pseudoword spelling (r = 0.54) and this difference was significant (z = 6.79 p = .001)"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Reading is the strongest predictor of spelling across all word types, while sublexical knowledge predicts pseudoword spelling only and is negatively associated with irregular word spelling — related
- Spelling accuracy for irregular words, regular words and pseudowords improves significantly with year group (spelling experience) — related
- Children spell regular words more accurately than pseudowords and irregular words, and irregular word accuracy falls below pseudoword accuracy until Yr 5 — related
- Phonological awareness predicts irregular word spelling from Yr 2 onward but does not predict regular word or pseudoword spelling at any year group — related
- Results are not fully in line with current theories on the representation of orthographic knowledge — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
irregular-pseudoword-spelling-dissociation |
title |
Irregular word and pseudoword spelling dissociate after controlling for year group, consistent with distinct lexical and sublexical processes |
description |
Irregular word and pseudoword spelling dissociate after controlling for year group, consistent with distinct lexical and sublexical processes |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2022 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-22 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — niolaki-2022 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.