
Charles A.
Perfetti
PhD, University of Michigan
University Professor
of Psychology
Senior Scientist and
Associate Director, Learning
Research & Development Center
University
of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Phone: (412) 624-7071
Email: perfetti@pitt.edu
Curriculum
Vitae
Research Program:
My central research interest is
in the cognitive science of language and reading processes, including lower and
higher level processes and the nature of reading ability. My approach involves
research in a cognitive (behavioral) lab, ERPs, and collaborative research in
neuroimaging (fMRI), and, recently, MEG. The general goal is to achieve a
richer view of language processes by the combination of methods. Current
projects include the following:
- The identification of
universal and writing-system specific components of reading. Comparisons
of Chinese and English word identification processes are the heart of this
empirical program, and recent papers develop a theoretical model of
Chinese word identification. These studies include neuroimaging (fMRI) and
ERP studies. Currently, more active work concerns learning across writing
systems.
- The Lexical Quality
Hypothesis. This work represents my long-standing interest in
understanding the components of reading ability. Our experiments suggest
the importance of lexical representations as a major source of individual
differences in simple comprehension tasks, consistent with our earlier
theories of individual differences in comprehension (Perfetti, 1985,
1992).
- Learning new words.
Connected to the lexical quality work is research on learning the meanings
(and forms) of new words. Both children and adults, and both behavioral
and ERP studies.
- Text comprehension:
Word-based and inference processes. ERPS provide word by word records of
comprehension allowing tests of word-to-text integration processes and
processes that the reader uses to fill the implicit information in a text.
- Learning a second language
as an adult. Emphasis on reading in L2, but also learning the language
itself. Studies of English learners of Chinese and learners of English as
a second language. This work is carried out through the Pittsburgh Science
of Learning Center. http://www.learnlab.org/
Recent Publications:
2009
Frishkoff,
G. A., Perfetti, C. A., & Westbury, C. (2009). ERP measures of partial
semantic knowledge: Left temporal indices of skill differences and lexical
quality. Biological Psychology, 80, 130-147.
Perfetti, C.
A. (2009). La Maison hypertext. In
M. Bernstein & D. Greco (Eds.), Reading hypertext (pp. 19-20).
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems.
2008
Bolger, D. J., Balass, M., Landen,
E. & Perfetti, C. A. (2008). Contextual variation and definitions in
learning the meaning of words. Discourse
Processes, 45(2), 122-159.
Frishkoff,
G. A., Collins-Thompson, K., Perfetti, C. A., & Callan, J. (2008).
Measuring incremental changes in word knowledge: Experimental validation and
implications for learning assessment. Behavioral Research Methods 40(4),
907-925.
Hart,
L., & Perfetti, C. A. (2008). Learning words in Zekkish: Implications for
understanding lexical representation. In E. L. Grigorenko & A. J. Naples
(Eds.), Single word reading: Behavioral and biological perspectives (pp.
107-128). New York: Taylor & Francis.
Perfetti,
C. A., & Dunlap, S. (2008). Learning to read: General principles and
writing system variations. In K. Koda & A. Zehler (Eds.). Learning to
read across languages (pp. 13-38). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Perfetti,
C., & Frishkoff, G. A. (2008).The neural bases of text and discourse
processing. In B. Stemmer & H. A. Whitaker (Eds.), Handbook of the
neurosciencce of language (pp. 165-174). Cambridge, MA: Elsevier.
Perfetti, C. A., Yang, C-L., &
Schmalhofer, F. (2008). Comprehension skill and word-to-text processes. Applied
Cognitive Psychology, 22(3), 303-318.
Siok,
W. T., Niu, Z. Jin, Z., Perfetti, C. A. & Tan, L. H. (2008). A
structural-functional basis for dyslexia in the cortex of Chinese readers. PNAS
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), 105(14),
5561-5566.
Verhoeven,
L., & Perfetti, C. A. (2008). Introduction. Advances in text comprehension:
Model, process and development. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22(3),
293-301.
2007
Chen,
B. G., Zhou, H. X., Dunlap, S., & Perfetti, C. A. (2007). Age of
acquisition effects in reading Chinese: Evidence in favor of the Arbitrary
Mapping Hypothesis. British Journal of Psychology, 98(3), 499-506.
Landi,
N., & Perfetti, C. A. (2007). An electrophysiological investigation of semantic and phonological
processing in skilled and less-skilled comprehenders. Brain and Language, 102, 30-45.
Liu,
Y., Dunlap, S., Fiez, J., & Perfetti, C.A. (2007). Evidence for neural accommodation to a writing
system following learning. Human Brain
Mapping,28, 1223-1234.
Liu,
Y., Wang, M., & Perfetti, C. A. (2007). Threshold-style processing of
Chinese characters for adult second-language learners. Memory and Cognition, 35(3), 471-480.
Perfetti,
C. A. (2007). Reading ability: Lexical quality to comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading,11(4),
357-383.
Perfetti,
C. A., Liu, Y., Fiez, J. Nelson, J., Bolger, D. J., & Tan, L-H. (2007).
Reading in two writing systems: Accommodation and Assimilation in the
brain’s reading network. Bilingualism:
Language and Cognition, 10(2), 131-146.
Special issue on “Neurocognitive approaches to bilingualism: Asian
languages”, P. Li (Ed.).
Schmalhofer, F., & Perfetti, C. A.
(2007). Neural and behavioral indicators of integration processes across
sentence boundaries. In F. Schmalhofer & C. Perfetti (Eds.), Higher
level language processes in the brain: Inference and comprehension processes (pp.
161-188). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Yang,
C-L., Perfetti, C. A., & Schmalhofer, F. (2007). Event-related potential
indicators of text integration across sentence boundaries. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33(1), 55-89.
2006
Goldberg,
R.F., Perfetti, C.A., Schneider, W. (2006). Distinct and common cortical
activations for multimodal semantic categories. Cognitive, Affective, and
Behavioral Neuroscience, 6(3), 214-222.
Landi,
N., Perfetti, C. A., Bolger, D. J., Dunlap, S., & Foorman, B. R. (2006).
The role of discourse context in developing word form representations: A
paradoxical relationship between reading and learning. Journal of
Experimental Child Psychology, 94(2), 114-133.
Liu,
Y., Perfetti, C. A., & Wang, M. (2006). Visual analysis and lexical access of Chinese characters by Chinese as
second language readers. Linguistics and
Language, 7(3), 637-657.
Massaro,
D. W., Liu, Y., Chen, T. H., & Perfetti, C. A. (2006). A multilingual
embodied conversational agent for tutoring speech and language learning. Proceedings
of the Ninth International Conference on Spoken Language Processing (Interspeech
2006 - ICSLP, September, Pittsburgh, PA) (pp. 825-828). Universität Bonn,
Germany.
Perfetti,
C. A., & Liu, Y. (2006). Reading Chinese characters: Orthography,
phonology, meaning, and the Lexical Constituency Model. In P. Li, L. H. Tan, E.
Bates, & O. J. L. Tzeng (Eds.), Handbook
of East Asian psycholinguistics (pp. 225-236). New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Perfetti,
C. A., Tan, L. H., & Siok, W. T. (2006).
Brain-behavior relations in reading and dyslexia: Implications of
Chinese results. Brain and Language, 98, 344-346.
2005
Bolger, D.
J., Perfetti, C. A., & Schneider, W. (2005). A cross-cultural effect on the
brain revisited: Universal structures plus writing system variation. Journal
of Human Brain Mapping, 25(1), 83-91.
Nelson, J. R.,
Balass, M., & Perfetti, C. A. (2005). Differences between written and
spoken input in learning new words. Written Language & Literacy, 8(2),
25-44.
Perfetti,
C. A., Landi, N., & Oakhill, J. (2005). The acquisition of reading
comprehension skill. In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of
reading: A handbook (pp. 227-247). Oxford: Blackwell.
Perfetti,
C. A., & Liu, Y. (2005). Orthography to phonology and meaning: Comparisons
across and within writing systems. Reading and Writing, 18(3), 193-210.
Perfetti,
C. A., Liu, Y., & Tan, L. H. (2005). The Lexical Constituency Model: Some
implications of research on Chinese for general theories of reading. Psychological
Review, 12(11), 43-59.
Perfetti, C. A.,
Wlotko, E. W., & Hart, L. A. (2005). Word learning and individual
differences in word learning reflected in Event-Related Potentials. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Learning Memory and Cognition, 31(6), 1281-1292.
Tan, L. H.,
Spinks, J. A., Eden, G., Perfetti, C. A., & Siok, W. T. (2005). Reading
depends on writing, in Chinese. PNAS, 102, 8781-8785.
Tokowicz,
N., & Perfetti, C. A. (2005). Introduction to section II: Comprehension. In
J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism:
Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 173-177). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Wang, M.,
Perfetti, C. A., & Liu, Y. (2005). Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition:
Cross-language and writing system transfer. Cognition, 97, 67-88.
Yang,
C. L., Perfetti, C. A., & Schmalhofer, F. (2005). Less skilled
comprehenders’ ERPs show sluggish word-to-text integration process. Written
Language & Literacy, 8(2), 233-257.
2004
Perfetti,
C. A., & Bolger, D. J. (2004). The brain might read that way. Scientific
Studies of Reading, 8(3), 293-304.
Siok, W. T.,
Perfetti, C. A., Jin, Z., & Tan, L. H. (2004). Biological abnormality of impaired reading
constrained by culture: Evidence from Chinese. Nature, September 1,
71-76.
Wang,
M., Liu, Y., & Perfetti, C. A. (2004). The implicit and explicit learning
of orthographic structure and function of a new writing system. Scientific
Studies of Reading, 8(4), 357-379.
2003
Liu,
Y., & Perfetti, C. A. (2003). The time course of brain activity in reading
English and Chinese: An ERP study of Chinese bilinguals. Journal of Human
Brain Mapping, 18(3), 167-175.
Liu,
Y., Perfetti, C. A., & Hart, L. (2003). ERP evidence for the time course of
graphic, phonological, and semantic information in Chinese meaning and
pronunciation decisions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning,
Memory, and Cognition, 29(6), 1231-1247.
McCandliss,
B., Beck, I. L., Sandak, R., & Perfetti, C. (2003). Focusing attention on
decoding for children with poor reading skills: Design and preliminary tests of
the Word Building intervention. Scientific Studies of Reading, 7(1),
75-104.
Perfetti,
C.A. (2003). The universal grammar of reading. Scientific Studies of Reading,
7(1), 3-24.
Reichle,
E. D., & Perfetti, C. A. (2003). Morphology in word identification: A
word-experience model that accounts for morpheme frequency effects. Scientific
Studies of Reading. 7(1), 219-238.
Verhoeven,
L., & Perfetti, C. A. (2003). Introduction to This Special Issue: The role
of morphology in learning to read. Scientific Studies of Reading, 7(3),
209-218.
Wang,
M., Koda, K., &, Perfetti, C. A. (2003). Alphabetic and nonalphabetic L1
effects in English word identification: A comparison of Korean and Chinese
English L2 learners. Cognition, 87, 129-149.
Wang,
M., Perfetti, C. A., & Liu, Y. (2003). Alphabetic readers quickly acquire
orthographic structure in learning to read Chinese. Scientific Studies of
Reading, 7(2), 183-208.
2002
Perfetti,
C.A., & Hart, L. (2002). The lexical quality hypothesis. In L. Vehoeven. C.
Elbro, & P. Reitsma (Eds.), Precursors of functional literacy (pp.
189-213). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Perfetti,
C. A., Liu, Y., & Tan, L.H. (2002). How the mind can meet the brain in
reading: A comparative writing systems approach. In H. S. R. Kao, C-K. Leong,
& D-G. Gao (Eds.), Cognitive neuroscience studies of the Chinese
language (pp. 36-60). Hong Kong University Press.
Yoon,
H-K., Bolger, D. J., Kwon, O-S., & Perfetti, C. A. (2002). Subsyllabic
units in reading: A difference between Korean and English. In L. Verhoeven. C.
Elbro, & P. Reitsma (Eds.), Precursors of functional literacy (pp.
139-163). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
2001
Perfetti, C. A.
(2001). Reading skills. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.). International
encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 12800-12805).
Oxford: Pergamon.
Perfetti,
C.A, & Hart, L. (2001). The lexical bases of comprehension skill. In D.
Gorfien (Ed.), On the consequences of meaning selection (pp. 67-86). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
Perfetti,
C.A. & Sandak, R. (2001) Literacy education. In N. J. Smelser & P. B.
Baltes (Eds.) International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral
sciences (pp. 8975-8981). Oxford: Pergamon.
Perfetti,
C.A., Van Dyke, J.A., & Hart, L. (2001). The psycholinguistics of basic
literacy. In M. McGroarty (Ed.), Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21,
127-149.
Rayner,
K., Foorman, B.R., Perfetti, C.A., Pesetsky, D. & Seidenberg, M.S. (2001).
How psychological science informs the teaching of reading. Psychological science
in the public interest, 2(2), 31-74. A supplement to Psychological
Science.
Tan,
L.H., Liu, H.L., Perfetti, C.A., Spinks, J.A., Fox, P.T., & Gao, J.H.
(2001). The neural system underlying Chinese logograph reading. NeuroImage,
13, 836-846.
2000
Booth,
J., Perfetti, C., MacWhinney, B., & Hunt, S. (2000). The association of
rapid temporal perception with orthographic and phonological processing in
children and adults with reading impairment. Scientific Studies of Reading,
4 (2), 101-132.
Britt,
M. A., Perfetti, C. A., Van Dyke, J. & Gabrys, G. (2000) The
Sourcer’s Apprentice: A tool for document-supported history instruction.
In P. Stearns, P. Seixas, & S. Weinberg (Eds.), Knowing, teaching and
learning history: National and international perspectives (pp. 437-470).
New York University Press.
Perfetti,
C.A., & Sandak, R. (2000). Reading optimally builds on spoken language. Journal
of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 5(1), 32-50.
Spinks
J.A., Liu, Y., Perfetti, C.A., & Tan, L.H. (2000). Reading Chinese
characters for meaning: the role of phonological information, Cognition 76(1),
B1-B11.
Tan
L. H., Spinks J. A., Gao, J. H., Liu, H.L., Perfetti, C. A., Xiong, J., Stofer,
K. A., Pu, Y., Liu, Y., & Fox, P. T. (2000). Brain activation in the
processing of Chinese characters and words: A functional MRI study. Human
Brain Mapping, 10(1), 16-27
1999
Booth,
J. R., Perfetti, C. A., & MacWhinney, B. (1999). Quick, automatic, and
general activation of orthographic and phonological representations in young
readers. Developmental Psychology, 35, 3-19.
Britt,
M. A., Rouet, J.-F., & Perfetti, C. A. (1999). Content integration and
source separation in learning from multiple texts. In S. R. Goldman, A. C.
Graesser, & P. van den Broek (Eds.), Narrative comprehension, causality,
and coherence: Essays in honor of Tom Trabasso. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Perfetti,
C. A. (1999). Comprehending written language: A blueprint of the reader. In C.
Brown & P. Hagoort (Eds.), The neurocognition of language (pp.
167-208). Oxford University Press.
Perfetti,
C.A., Rouet, J.-F., & Britt, M.A. (1999). Toward a theory of documents
representation. In H. van Oostendorp & S. Goldman (Eds.), The
construction of mental representations during reading (pp. 99-122). Mahwah,
NJ: Erlbaum.
Tan,
L. H., & Perfetti, C. A. (1999). Phonological activation in visual
identification of Chinese two-character words. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25, 382-393.
Tan,
L.H., & Perfetti, C.A. (1999). Phonological and associative inhibition in
the early stages of English word identification: Evidence from backward
masking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and
Performance, 25, 382-393.
Xu,
B. And Perfetti, C.A. (1999) Nonstrategic subjective threshold effects in
phonemic masking. Memory and cognition, 27(1), 26-36.
Zhang,
S., Perfetti, C.A., & Yang, Hui (1999). Whole-word, frequency-general
phonology in semantic processing of Chinese characters. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25 (4), 858-875.
1998
Perfetti,
C. A. (1998). The limits of co-occurrence: Tools and theories in language
research. Discourse Processes, 25, 363-377.
Perfetti,
C.A., & Marron, M. A. (1998). Learning to read: Literacy acquisition by
children and adults. In D.A. Wagner (Ed.). Advances in adult literacy
research and development. Hampton Press.
Perfetti,
C.A., & Tan, L.H. (1998). The time course of graphic, phonological, and
semantic activation in Chinese character identification. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 24,
101-118.
Tan,
L.H., & Perfetti, C.A. (1998). Phonological codes as early sources of
constraint in Chinese word identification: A review of current discoveries and
theoretical accounts. In "Cognitive processing of Chinese and
Japanese" special issue. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary
Journal, 10, 165-200. Reprinted in C.K. Leong and K. Tamaoka (Eds), Cognitive
Processes of the Chinese and the Japanese languages. Series in
Neuropsychology and Cognition, R. Joshi, Series Editor. Boston: Kluwer Academic
Publishers, 1998.