Effects of Vocabulary Breadth and Depth on Reading Comprehension in Chinese-Speaking Children in Grades 1 to 3: The Mediating Role of Character Recognition Accuracy

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2026.05.003

Studies of Psychology and Behavior ›› 2026, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (5): 592-599.DOI: 10.12139/j.1672-0628.2026.05.003

Previous Articles Next Articles

Effects of Vocabulary Breadth and Depth on Reading Comprehension in Chinese-Speaking Children in Grades 1 to 3: The Mediating Role of Character Recognition Accuracy

DONG Qiong^1,2, ZHANG Yuping³, LI Hong², WU Xinchun^2,4

1. School of Philosophy, Anhui University, Hefei 230039;
2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Research Center of Children’s Reading and Learning, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875;
3. School of Psychology, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan Applied Psychology Research Center, Chengdu 610500;
4. Bay Area School of Applied Psychological Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087

Received:2026-03-10 Online:2026-09-20 Published:2026-09-20

小学一至三年级汉语儿童词汇广度与深度对阅读理解的影响：字词识别准确性的中介作用

董琼^1,2, 张玉平³, 李虹², 伍新春^2,4

1. 安徽大学哲学学院，合肥 230039;
2. 北京师范大学心理学部，应用实验心理北京市重点实验室，儿童阅读与学习研究院，北京 100875;
3. 成都医学院心理学院，四川应用心理学研究中心，成都 610500;
4. 北京师范大学湾区应用心理学院，珠海 519087

通讯作者: 伍新春
基金资助:
教育部人文社会科学研究青年基金项目(21YJCZH022)；国家社会科学基金一般项目(21BYY107)；国家社会科学基金教育学一般项目(BBA250057)。

Abstract

Abstract: This study examined how vocabulary breadth and depth contributed to reading comprehension via character recognition accuracy among 421 Chinese-speaking children in Grades 1 to 3. Results revealed grade-related differences: breadth’s total effects decreased across grades, whereas depth’s total effects increased. In Grade 1, breadth predicted comprehension through direct and character recognition accuracy-mediated indirect pathways, while the effects of depth were not significant. In Grade 2, breadth operated solely through indirect pathways, whereas depth exerted direct effects. In Grade 3, breadth remained indirect while depth operated through both pathways. Within-grade comparisons indicated breadth’s total and indirect effects significantly exceeded depth’s total and indirect effects solely in Grade 1. In Grades 2 and 3, no significant differences emerged between breadth and depth in total, indirect, or direct effects. These findings reveal divergent mechanisms for vocabulary breadth and depth across early grades, supporting and refining the direct and indirect effects model of reading and the lexical quality hypothesis.

Key words: vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, reading comprehension, lower and middle primary grades

摘要： 为厘清词汇知识不同维度对小学中低年级阅读理解的作用机制，本研究选取421名一至三年级汉语儿童，考察词汇广度与深度的贡献及字词识别准确性的中介作用。结果表明，二者作用模式存在年级差异：广度总效应数值随年级升高而降低，深度总效应数值则升高。一年级，广度经直接路径与字词识别准确性中介的间接路径影响阅读理解，深度作用不显著；二年级，广度仅有间接作用，深度为直接作用；三年级，广度为间接作用，深度兼具直接与间接作用。年级内比较显示，仅一年级广度的总效应与间接效应显著高于深度，二、三年级二者的总效应、间接效应与直接效应差异均不显著。上述结果揭示了词汇广度与深度作用机制的年级差异，支持并细化了DIER模型与词汇质量假说。

关键词: 词汇广度, 词汇深度, 阅读理解, 小学中低年级

CLC Number:

B842

DONG Qiong, ZHANG Yuping, LI Hong, WU Xinchun. Effects of Vocabulary Breadth and Depth on Reading Comprehension in Chinese-Speaking Children in Grades 1 to 3: The Mediating Role of Character Recognition Accuracy[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(5): 592-599.

董琼, 张玉平, 李虹, 伍新春. 小学一至三年级汉语儿童词汇广度与深度对阅读理解的影响：字词识别准确性的中介作用[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2026, 24(5): 592-599.

References

陈红君, 赵英, 伍新春, 孙鹏, 谢瑞波, 冯杰. (2019). 小学儿童词汇知识与阅读理解的关系: 交叉滞后研究. 心理学报, 51(8), 924–934
程勇, 徐德宽, 董军. (2020). 基于语文教材语料库的文本阅读难度分级关键因素分析与易读性公式研究. 语言文字应用, (1), 132–143
李虹, 董琼, 朱瑾, 刘俊娉, 伍新春. (2009). 语素意识在学前儿童言语技能发展中的作用. 心理科学, 32(6), 1291–1294
温鸿博. (2005). 小学语文阅读能力测评量表的编制(硕士学位论文). 华南师范大学, 广州.
温鑫滔, 谢瑞波, 喻艳玲, 夏月, 伍新春. (2024). 小学低年级儿童汉字识别与词汇知识对阅读理解的作用: 阅读流畅性的中介效应. 心理科学, 47(4), 838–847
闫梦格, 李虹, 李宜逊, 周雪莲, 回懿, 程亚华, 伍新春. (2020). 识字量和词汇知识在儿童阅读发展中的相对重要性. 心理发展与教育, 36(3), 311–317
臧传丽, 张慢慢, 郭晓峰, 刘娟, 闫国利, 白学军. (2012). 中文词汇加工的若干效应: 基于眼动研究的证据. 心理科学进展, 20(9), 1382–1392
张厚粲, 王晓平. (1989). 瑞文标准推理测验在我国的修订. 心理学报, (2), 113–121
中华人民共和国教育部. (2022). 义务教育语文课程标准(2022年版). 北京: 北京师范大学出版社.
Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1981). Vocabulary knowledge. In J. Guthrie (Ed.), Comprehension and teaching: Research reviews (pp. 77–117). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Cai, M. J., & Liao, X. (2024). The relationship between vocabulary depth knowledge, word reading, and reading comprehension in Chinese. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 244, 105951
Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. (2014). Reading comprehension and vocabulary: Is vocabulary more important for some aspects of comprehension. L'Année Psychologique, 114(4), 647–662
Chall, J. S., Jacobs, V. A., & Baldwin, L. E. (1990). The reading crisis: Why poor children fall behind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Florit, E., & Cain, K. (2011). The simple view of reading: Is it valid for different types of alphabetic orthographies. Educational Psychology Review, 23(4), 553–576
Hoover, W. A., & Gough, P. B. (1990). The simple view of reading. Reading and Writing, 2(2), 127–160
Jago, L. S., Monaghan, P., Alcock, K., & Cain, K. (2025). The effect of preschool vocabulary and grammar on early reading comprehension and word reading: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 47, 100680
Kim, Y. S. G. (2020). Toward integrative reading science: The direct and indirect effects model of reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(6), 469–491
Kintsch, W. (1998). Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Li, H., Shu, H., McBride-Chang, C., Liu, H. Y., & Peng, H. (2012). Chinese children’s character recognition: Visuo-orthographic, phonological processing and morphological skills. Journal of Research in Reading, 35(3), 287–307
Li, M., & Kirby, J. R. (2015). The effects of vocabulary breadth and depth on English reading. Applied Linguistics, 36(5), 611–634
Nation, K., & Snowling, M. J. (2004). Beyond phonological skills: Broader language skills contribute to the development of reading. Journal of Research in Reading, 27(4), 342–356
Ouellette, G. P. (2006). What’s meaning got to do with it: The role of vocabulary in word reading and reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(3), 554–566
Pan, D. J., Nakayama, M., McBride, C., Cheah, Z. R. E., Zheng, M., & Yeung, C. C. L. (2023). Cognitive-linguistic skills and vocabulary knowledge breadth and depth in children’s L1 Chinese and L2 English. Applied Psycholinguistics, 44(1), 77–99
Perfetti, C. (2007). Reading ability: Lexical quality to comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(4), 357–383
Perfetti, C., & Stafura, J. (2014). Word knowledge in a theory of reading comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), 22–37
Qian, D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 56(2), 282–308
Rueda-Sánchez, M. I., García-Gómez, L., & González-Fernández, L. (2025). Effects of depth vocabulary, word reading and metalinguistic competence on reading comprehension in Spanish. Educational Psychology, 45(5), 495–519
Schmitterer, A. M. A., Gawrilow, C., & Friedrich, C. (2024). Learning to read connections-sensitivity to collocation frequency links vocabulary size and reading comprehension in middle childhood. Reading Research Quarterly, 59(3), 448–467
Tong, X. H., & Tong, S. X. (2022). How vocabulary breadth and depth influence bilingual reading comprehension: Direct and indirect pathways. Learning and Individual Differences, 100, 102227
Wang, T. X., & Zhang, H. M. (2025). Reciprocal effects of vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and reading comprehension: A cross-lagged panel analysis in Chinese-speaking EFL learners. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 410
Zhou, L. L., Duff, F. J., & Hulme, C. (2015). Phonological and semantic knowledge are causal influences on learning to read words in Chinese. Scientific Studies of Reading, 19(6), 409–418

[1]	Suyuan ZHANG, Yu GUAN, Sainan LI, Shui ZHANG. The Developmental Trends of the Irrelevant Speech Effect in Reading Among Grades 1−5: Evidence from Eye Movements [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(3): 295-302.
[2]	Yake WANG, Yuxuan ZHANG, Linlin FENG, Mingfang KA, Feifei LIANG. Developmental Trajectories of Eye Movement in Reading Among Third- to Fifth-Grade Children and Their Relationship with Reading Comprehension [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(2): 161-169.
[3]	Jianping XIONG, Ping JU, Huihui CHEN, Yujie ZHANG, Qingchun WANG. Development of an Assessment for Measuring Reading Ability Differences Among Proficient Chinese Readers [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2024, 22(4): 529-537.
[4]	TONG Wen, YU Xue, LIU Zhifang, ZHU Xingyu, QI Qi. Differences in Contextual Information Utilization Between Fast and Slow Readers: The Role of Processing Depth [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2022, 20(4): 450-456.
[5]	ZHANG Di, ZHAO Wei, LI Li, GAO Guili. Measurement of Word Awareness and Its Predictability to Early Reading Development [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2021, 19(6): 771-778.
[6]	KONG Haiyan, SUN Yu, SONG Guangwen. Influence of Mind Wandering and Working Memory on Junior High School Students' Reading Comprehension [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2018, 16(3): 362-370,377.
[7]	Wu Guolai, Zhou Man, Yin Xiaojuan, Li Haiying, Li Jiaohua. The Effects of Mind Wandering on Chinese Reading Performance [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2017, 15(3): 329-334.
[8]	Liu Xinyan,Guan Shanling,Feng Bencai,Fan Xiaohong,Guo jie. THE DEVELOPMENTAL STUDY ON THE READING COMPREHENSION MONITORING OF THE EFFICIENT AND INEFFICIENT READERS [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2006, 4(3): 225-229.
[9]	Li Ningning,Li Hongyu. THE EFFECTS OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS′ READING COMPREHENSION [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2006, 4(2): 149-153.
[10]	Lu Zhongyi,Chen Weina. THE MECHANISM OF SUPERORDINATE GOAL INFERENCES IN TEXT READING [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2005, 3(1): 5-10.
[11]	Song Guangwen,Liu Zhaomin. THE INFLUENCE OF COMPREHENDING LEVELS ON TRANSFER OF INFORMATION STORING IN READING [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2004, 2(4): 610-613.
[12]	Li Weijian. AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON COMPREHENSION MONITORING OF THE STUDENT WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2004, 2(1): 346-350.

Effects of Vocabulary Breadth and Depth on Reading Comprehension in Chinese-Speaking Children in Grades 1 to 3: The Mediating Role of Character Recognition Accuracy

小学一至三年级汉语儿童词汇广度与深度对阅读理解的影响：字词识别准确性的中介作用

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 12

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments