Threat-Triggering Instructions Modulate the Expression and Amplitude of the Phonological Deficit in Reading of Children With Developmental Dyslexia

Developmental dyslexia (DYS) is a neurobehavioral disorder frequently linked to a pervasive phonological deficit. However, the influence of socioevaluative pressure such as expectations regarding their reading abilities remains underexplored. We investigated the impact of such pressure on phonological processing in French-speaking DYS children compared to peers matched on reading level and chronological age. Using a two-step protocol with simple visual syllable-based detection tasks, we modulated socioevaluative pressure through instructions. Under stress-reducing instructions, DYS children showed near-normal syllable effects despite slower processing. By contrast, threat-triggering instructions elicited significant declines in reading speed (14.4–16.4% slower) and accuracy (10.8–11.4% less accurate) and syllable effects disappeared, indicating choking under pressure. These findings underscore the role of socioevaluative factors and highlight degraded access to syllable representations. Our results prompt a discussion on the impact of socioevaluative pressure on the expression and amplitude of reading (dis)abilities, complicating characterization and remediation in DYS children.