Visual factors in word perception

Abstract

An experiment is reported confirming the existence of the "word-letter phenomenon" (WLP): At tachistoscopic exposure durations, each letter of a four-letter word is perceived more accurately than a single letter. Data obtained rule out several artifactual interpretations, including the possibility that perception of letters in a word is facilitated merely by the presence of adjacent contours. The WLP is shown to depend critically on what type of display is used as a preand postexposure field. While a masking field of high-contrast random contours produced a large and reliable WLP, a plain white field eliminated the phenomenon entirely. This pattern of results suggests several ways in which perception at the word level may differ from perception at the letter level.