The Span of Letter Recognition of Good and Poor Readers

Abstract

THIS STUDY investigated the span of letter recognition for good and poor readers during a reading task. Sixteen fifth-grade children read passages from a cathode-ray tube as their eye movements were monitored. On selected fixations during reading, letters in certain regions of the display were replaced by other letters. This manipulation provided erroneous text in specific regions of the visual field. The results of the study indicate that both groups acquire letter information from a region of text extending from two letters to the left of the center of the fixation through to about six or seven letters to the right. There was no evidence to suggest that skilled readers utilize letter information from a wider region of text than do less able readers. The findings have significant implications for theories of information processing and theories of eye guidance in reading, especially as the present investigation is the first to compare the performance of good and poor readers when peripheral information is disrupted but foveal information remains intact.