Learning Research and Development Center

People

Perfetti, Charles A.

LRDC Director, Senior Scientist, and Project Director
Distinguished University Professor of Psychology
PhD, University of Michigan


Contact:
833 LRDC
412-624-7071
412-624-9149
perfetti@pitt.edu
http://www.pitt.edu/~perfetti/Charles-Perfetti.htm
 

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Research Interests: Language and reading processes, relations between contexts and linguistic structures in parsing and comprehension, role of implicit speech processes in reading across different writing systems, individual differences in reading ability, learning from texts, with an emphasis on learning and reasoning about history texts

Projects/Labs

• Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC)
• Reading and Language Group

Publications

• Yang, C. –L., & Perfetti, C. A. (in press). Contextual Constraints on the Comprehension of Relative Clause Sentences in Chinese: ERPs Evidence. The special issue of Language and Linguistics on Brain and Language.
• Yang, C. –L., Perfetti, C. A., & Schmalhofer, F. (in press). ERP Evidence for Less Skilled Readers’ Inefficient Lexical Processes in Text Integration. The special Issues in Reading and Writing.
• Perfetti, C. A. (in press). Reading. In P. C. Hogan (Ed.), Cambridge encyclopedia of the language sciences. Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut.
• Perfetti, C. A., Liu, Y., Fiez, J., & Tan, L-H. (in press). The neural bases of reading: The accommodation of the brain’s reading network to writing systems. In P. Cornelissen, M. Kringelbach, & P. Hansen (Eds.), The neural basis of reading. Oxford University Press (Abstract-html)
• Frishkoff, G. A., Perfetti, C. A., & Collins-Thompson, K. (in press). Lexical quality in the brain: ERP evidence for robust word learning from context. Developmental Neuropsychology.
• Perfetti, C. A. (in press). Decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension: The golden triangle of reading skill. In M. G. McKeown & L. Kucan (Eds.), Bringing reading researchers to life: Essays in honor of Isabel Beck. New York: Guilford.
• Nelson, J. R., Liu, Y., Fiez, J., & Perfetti, C. A. (2009). Assimilation and accommodation patters in ventral occipitotemporal cortex in learning a second writing system. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 810-820.
• Perfetti, C. A. (2009). La Maison hypertext. In M. Bernstein & D. Greco (Eds.), Reading hypertext (pp. 19-20). Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems. (Abstract-pdf)
• 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.
• Frishkoff, G. A., White, G., & Perfetti, C. A. (2009). In vivo testing of learning and instructional principles: The design and implementation of school-based experimentation. In L. M. Dinella (Ed.), Conducting science-based psychology research in schools (pp. 153-173). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
• 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.
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. A., Yang, C-L., & Schmalhofer, F. 2008). Comprehension skill and word-to-text processes. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22(3), 303-318. (Abstract-html)
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Schmalhofer, F., & Perfetti, C. A. (Eds.). (2007). Higher level language processes in the brain: Inference and comprehension processes. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Goldberg, R.F., Perfetti, C.A., J. A. Fiez, Schneider, W (2007) Selective retrieval of abstract semantic knowledge In left prefrontal cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience 2007 • 27(14):3790 –3798
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Perfetti, C. A. (2007). Reading ability: Lexical quality to comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(4), 357-383. (Abstract-html)
• 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.) (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Goldberg, R.F., Perfetti, C.A., Schneider, W. (2006) Distinct and common cortical activations for multimodal semantic categories. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience. 6, 214-222.
• Goldberg, R.F., Perfetti, C.A., Schneider, W (2006) Perceptual Knowledge Retrieval Activates Sensory Brain Regions. J. Neuroscience. 26(18):4917– 4921
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Tokowicz, N., & Perfetti, C. A. (2005). Introduction to part 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.
• Yang, C. L., Perfetti, C. A., & Schmalhofer, F. (2005). Less skilled comprehenders’ ERPs show sluggish word-to-text integration processes. Written Language & Literacy, 8(2), 233-257. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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 (Abstract-html)
• Wang, M., Perfetti, C. A., & Liu, Y. (2005). Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition: Cross-language and writing system transfer. Cognition, 97, 67-88. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Perfetti, C. A., & Liu, Y. (2005). Orthography to phonology and meaning: Comparisons across and within writing systems. Reading and Writing, 18(3), 193-210. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Perfetti, C. A., & Bolger, D. J. (2004). The brain might read that way. Scientific Studies of Reading, 8(3), 293-304. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Wang, M., Liu, Y., & Perfetti, C.A. (2004). The implicit and explicit learning of Chinese orthographic structure and function by alphabetic readers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 8(4), 357-379.
• Wang, M., Liu, Y., & Perfetti, C.A. (2004). The implicit and explicit learning of Chinese orthographic structure and function by alphabetic readers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 8(4), 357-379.
• Liu., & Perfetti, C. (2003). The time course of brain activity in reading English and Chinese: An ERP study of Chinese bilinguals. Journal of Human Brain Mapping, 18:167-175. (Abstract-html)
• Perfetti, C.A., (2003). The universal grammar of reading. Scientific Studies of Reading, 7(1), 3-24 (Abstract-html)
• 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, 219-237 (Abstract-pdf)
• 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 (Abstract-html)
• 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.
• Tan, L.H., Spinks, J.A., Feng, C.M., Siok, W.T., Perfetti, C.A., Xiong, J., Fox, P.T., & Gao, J.H. (2003). Neural systems of second language reading are shaped by native language. Human Brain Mapping, 18, 158-166
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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.
• Booth, J. R. & Perfetti, C.A. (2002). Onset and rime structure influences naming but not early word identification in children and adults. Scientific Studies of Reading, 6(1), 1-23.
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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.
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Rayner, K., Foorman, B.R., Perfetti, C.A., Pesetsky, D., & Seidenberg, M.S. (2001). How should reading be taught. Scientific American (March, 2001). (Extracted from Psychological Science article)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• 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.
• Perfetti, C.A. (2001). Reading skill. In International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences. Cognitive Science Editor, W. Kintsch. The Netherlands: Kluwer.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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. (Abstract-html)
• Perfetti, C.A., & Sandak, R. (2000). Reading optimally builds on spoken language. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 5(1), 32-50. (Abstract-html)

There are 76 publications total. View All

Honors and Awards

• Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. (2004)
• Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award (2000)

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