According to an analysis of the books most frequently purchased between 1965 and 1975, Americans read to ascribe some sense to their personal universe and affirm intimately who they are. (DD)

Discusses responses to surveys about reasons for reading and notes that, when asked for reasons why they read, most people say they read for knowledge or pleasure, but when answers are explored in depth people show considerable variation in their purposes for reading. (MKM)

A study examined the extent to which adults engage in reading tasks to meet a variety of personal purposes and needs, asking when engaged reading is most likely to occur for types of text sources, reading purposes, reading settings, educational attainment groups, and occupational groups. Subjects included 159 adults who represented a wide range of…

Reviews and identifies several aspects of adult reading habits in the United States. (FL)

Contains selected data from a survey of Norwegian citizens' reading habits and interests. (JT)

Reports a survey of the reading habits of a national sample of 5067 adults designed to determine what is being read--by whom, for how long, and for what reason--and how reading fits into people's daily activities. (TO)

Hypotheses regarding the social contexts of reading activities were tested in two studies. Significant three-way interactions were found between (1) education, setting, and the contents (subject matters) of reading; and (2) occupation, setting, and reading contents. Because social contexts influence reading practices they should be considered in…

Interest in adults' everyday reading practices has a lengthy history in the study of the psychology of reading. Several studies have examined the extent of, and variability in, adults' reading activities. Different social contexts have been shown to influence the type of reading performed. The present study examined the reading patterns and…

Reports on a survey of 32 adult fiction readers and their attitudes toward the kind of reading that they enjoy. (AEA)

Finds that adult listeners to tape recordings of books are highly educated people who do a great deal of professional and recreational reading and who listen to books on tape for information and enjoyment while they are engaged in activities that require little concentration. (SR)

Data from 149 female members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) were used to construct a composite of the reading habits and their relation to other characterisitics of this group. The typical respondent was a married woman between 26 and 40 years old who had attended college but remained at home to care for children under…

The 609 entries in this annotated bibliography are intended to help research workers who have an interest in the reading behavior of the general public and to stimulate ideas for further research. The entries are divided into nine sections covering general works; works providing a historical background; works dealing with the development from…

A questionnaire was completed by 110 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 in a study conducted to determine the primary reason why adults read. The results showed that informational reading was the main purpose for adult reading, but did not indicate a relationship between purpose for reading and socioeconomic status and educational level.…

Finds that reading practices involving books and work documents bore a strong relationship to literacy proficiencies, and that younger adults were more likely to read brief documents for work, while older adults were more avid newspaper readers. Concludes that engaging in a diversity of reading practices is indicative of reading maturity and has…

Compares how readers in Hungary and Finland approached selected novels. Finds that the reading of fiction plays different roles in the two societies; different styles are preferred; and readers approach the same book from a different perspective. (SR)