Leonard Katz
Encyclopedia
Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1938, Leonard Katz http://web.uconn.edu/psychology/people/Faculty/Katz/Katz.html is an American
experimental psychologist. He was a Professor of Psychology
at the University of Connecticut
(1965–2006) and is now Professor Emeritus. In the late 1960s, he applied the emerging concepts and experimental techniques of the new cognitive psychology
to study children's reading. In 1974 he joined Haskins Laboratories
, where he collaborated with Isabelle Liberman
, Donald Shankweiler
and others in the Haskins program that studied the relationships between speech and reading, particularly the idea that phonological awareness of speech is instrumental in developing skilled reading. His early work studied reading in English with American schoolchildren but soon was extended to include studies of reading in other alphabetic writing systems (French, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Serbian) and nonalphabetic systems (Korean, Chinese
). By the 1990s, he was a member of teams (led by B. and S. Shaywitz at Yale
and K. Pugh at Yale and Haskins) that utilized brain-scan data from MRI, fMRI, and MRS
to study reading. In addition to his research activity, he has been a resource consultant at UConn and Haskins on issues of experimental design
and statistical analysis.
and Ph.D.
(1963) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Postdoctoral training at Stanford University
(1963–1965).
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
experimental psychologist. He was a Professor of Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
(1965–2006) and is now Professor Emeritus. In the late 1960s, he applied the emerging concepts and experimental techniques of the new cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
to study children's reading. In 1974 he joined Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories
Haskins Laboratories is an independent, international, multidisciplinary community of researchers conducting basic research on spoken and written language. Founded in 1935 and located in New Haven, Connecticut since 1970, Haskins Laboratories is a private, non-profit research institute with a...
, where he collaborated with Isabelle Liberman
Isabelle Liberman
Isabelle Yoffe Liberman was an American psychologist, born in Latvia, who was an expert on reading disabilities, including dyslexia. Isabelle Liberman received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College and her doctorate from Yale University...
, Donald Shankweiler
Donald Shankweiler
Donald P. Shankweiler is an eminent psychologist and cognitive scientist who has done pioneering work on the representation and processing of language in the brain...
and others in the Haskins program that studied the relationships between speech and reading, particularly the idea that phonological awareness of speech is instrumental in developing skilled reading. His early work studied reading in English with American schoolchildren but soon was extended to include studies of reading in other alphabetic writing systems (French, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Serbian) and nonalphabetic systems (Korean, Chinese
Chinese alphabet
Written Chinese is not an alphabetic script. Rather, it is a logographic script based on Chinese characters, though there also exist alphabetic systems to transcribe the language.-Alphabetic transcription of Chinese:...
). By the 1990s, he was a member of teams (led by B. and S. Shaywitz at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and K. Pugh at Yale and Haskins) that utilized brain-scan data from MRI, fMRI, and MRS
MRS
MRS can refer to:* Magnetic resonance spectroscopy* Mandibular repositioning splint* Marginal rate of substitution, in economics* Marseille Provence Airport, IATA airport code* Materials Research Society* Melbourne Rectangular Stadium...
to study reading. In addition to his research activity, he has been a resource consultant at UConn and Haskins on issues of experimental design
Design of experiments
In general usage, design of experiments or experimental design is the design of any information-gathering exercises where variation is present, whether under the full control of the experimenter or not. However, in statistics, these terms are usually used for controlled experiments...
and statistical analysis.
Education
B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(1963) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Postdoctoral training at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(1963–1965).
Selected publications
- Katz, L., & Wicklund, D. A. (1971). Word scanning rate for good and poor readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 138-140.
- Katz, L., & Feldman, L. B. (1981). Linguistic coding in word recognition: Comparisons between a deep and a shallow orthography. In A. Lesgold & C. Perfetti, Interactive Processes in reading. Hillsdale. NJ: Erlbaum.
- Katz, L. & Frost, R. (1992). The reading process is different for different orthographies: The orthographic depth hypothesis. In Frost, R. & Katz, L., (Eds.). Orthography, Phonology, Morphology, and Meaning, pp. 67–84. Amsterdam: Elsevier North Holland Press.
- Katz, L. (2005). Dyslexia. In Philipp Skutch (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Linguistics. New York: Routledge,. 2 volumes. (ISBN 1-57958-391-1.)
- Katz, L., Lee, C.H., Tabor, W., Frost, S. J., Mencl, W. E., Sandak, R., Rueckl, J., & Pugh, K. R. (2005). Behavioral and Neurobiological Effects of Printed Word Repetition in Lexical Decision and Naming. Neuropsychologia. 43, 2068-2083.
- Katz, L. (2011). The neurobiology of reading and writing. In P. C. Hogan (Ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences, 932-934. New York: The Cambridge University Press.
- Katz, L., Brancazio, L., Irwin, J., Katz, S., Magnuson, J., & Whalen, D. (2011). What lexical decision and naming tell us about reading. Reading and Writing.(in press)