GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PHONETIC PROCESSING

In research on dyslexia, inadequate or inappropriate comparisons have often been made with control subjects, frequently overlooking importan t gender differences. More information is needed regarding the perform ance of control subjects, and adults, on measures purportedly assessin g phonological and orthographic processing. Using tests similar to tho se used in dyslexic research, 20 female and 20 male college-age studen ts were tested to examine gender differences in phonetic processing sk ills. The findings suggest that in equally competent readers, gender a nd other factors do play a significant role in determining the time it takes for phoneme manipulation and word identification. Females, espe cially those with poorer academic records, are significantly slower th an males on measures typically used in dyslexic research. These findin gs show a need for a reexamination of control group equivalence (espec ially regarding gender), and further exploration of variables that mig ht influence performance on these tasks.