Further Discussion of the Evidence for An Intercohort Decline in Education-Adjusted Vocabulary *

Abstract

In their article, Wilson and Gove do not sufficiently consider the implications of the fact that education-adjusted GSS vocabulary scores in the total U.S. adult population declined to an important extent during the period covered by the GSS data. It is improbable that this decline resulted only from period influences: The declines in scores for different age levels over time are inconsistent with the usual tendency for period influences to affect the psychological characteristics of younger persons more than those of older persons. Furthermore, the GSS data show no increases in vocabulary scores within cohorts during middle age, as should have occurred if the intercohort differences shown by the data reflected only age effects. That an intercohort decline in time spent reading has contributed to an intercohort decline in education-adjusted vocabulary scores remains a reasonable hypothesis.