What is "normal" reading?
A recent paper questions what we lose when we assume there's a thing called "normal" reading.
I like articles that make me think twice about things I typically take for granted. For example, researchers often ask participants to “read normally” - sometimes to study reading itself but often to study how other phenomena occur when or via reading. Well, Huettig and Ferreira (2023) have published a paper challenging the assumptions behind instructions to “read normally.”
Who defines what is normal (hint: people with power)? To what degree is the literature biased toward particular cultural views of reading (hint: a lot)? And is there even such a thing as “normal” reading when people’s situations and goals differ so much (hint: not really)?
I really resonated with what they wrote about the situativity of reading: I read very differently when scrolling social media versus reading an article in the Washington Post versus reading an article in my area of expertise. And my reading differs depending upon my assessment of the task and situation: do I need to deeply understand the text, or just get the gist? Do I have lots of time to read or do I need to hurry up? There are multiple dimensions on which reading can vary, and they each of them can matter depending upon the circumstances. If we assume there is a “normal reading” what we are really doing is ignoring those dimensions.
So, assuming there is a single “normal reading” is too simplistic but taking into account every possible way reading can differ is often overly complex. It’s important to keep in mind all models are wrong but some are useful. In most cases there’s likely a middle ground of complexity that accounts for the most important dimensions of difference but still allows for a reasonable problem space to explore.
The authors ended with a reference to the reading wars, which I was less enamored of. I wish we’d stop framing it this way (as a war) and I wish we treated the science of reading with the nuance and complexity it requires: phonics work, comprehension matters, and literacy nowadays is a lot more than just being able to read a sentence. We can and should help children with all three.