How Literacy Acquisition Affects the Illiterate Mind - A Critical Examination of Theories and Evidence

Abstract

At present, more than one-fifth of humanity is unable to read and write. We critically examine experimental evidence and theories of how (il)literacy affects the human mind. In our discussion, we show that literacy has significant cognitive consequences that go beyond the processing of written words and sentences. Thus, cultural inventions such as reading shape general cognitive processing in non-trivial ways. We suggest that this has important implications for educational policy and guidance and research into cognitive processing and brain functioning.