Which one of the following students is definitely demonstrating automatization in word recognition?

• A. Lily pauses frequently to recall the meaning of each word as she reads.
• B. Maria reads a list of familiar words quickly and accurately without consciously thinking about each word.
• C. Ethan asks for help with every word he encounters, even those he has seen before.
• D. James slowly sounds out each letter in unfamiliar words before saying them aloud.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the concept of automatization in psychology, particularly in the context of word recognition. Automatization refers to the process by which a task becomes automatic through practice, requiring little conscious effort or attention.
2. Step 2: Analyze each student's behavior in relation to automatization. Automatization in word recognition means reading words quickly and accurately without conscious effort or frequent pauses.
3. Step 3: Evaluate Lily's behavior: she pauses frequently to recall meanings, indicating that her word recognition is not automatic but effortful and conscious.
4. Step 4: Evaluate Ethan's behavior: he asks for help with every word, showing a lack of automaticity and dependence on external assistance.
5. Step 5: Evaluate James's behavior: he slowly sounds out each letter in unfamiliar words, which is a deliberate and conscious decoding process, not automatized recognition. Maria reads familiar words quickly and accurately without conscious thought, which matches the definition of automatization.