OPTIMAL VIEWING POSITION OF PARTIALLY CONNECTED AND UNCONNECTED WORDS IN ARABIC

In order to assess the unique reading processes in Arabic, given its unique orthographic nature of natural inherent variations of inter-letter spacing, the current study examined the extent and influence of connectedness disparity during single word recognition using the optimal viewing position (OVP) paradigm. The initial word viewing position was systematically manipulated by shifting words horizontally relative to an imposed initial viewing position. However, unlike previous research, partially connected/unconnected three-, four- and five-letter Arabic words were displayed in the left and right visual hemifields at all possible locations of letter fixation. It was found that OVP effects occurred during the processing of isolated Arabic words. No OVP was found in three-letter words; for four- and five-letter words, the OVP effect appeared as a U-shaped curve with a minimum towards the second and third letters. Thus, the OVP effects generalize across structurally different alphabetic scripts. Furthermore, a perceptual superiority was found for words with right-positioned unconnected sub-units as compared to left positioned unconnected sub-units because of the differential sensitivity of the hemispheres to the gestalt form of letters. Such findings support the established view that the LH specializes in word recognition for alphabetic languages.

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Optimal Viewing Position for Fully Connected and Unconnected words in Arabic

Polish Psychological Bulletin ◽

10.1515/ppb-2016-0024 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

pp. 207-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Deia Ganayim

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Processing Time ◽

Single Word ◽

Reading Processes ◽

Normal Reading ◽

Optimal Viewing Position ◽

Fully Connected ◽

Viewing Position

Abstract In order to assess the unique reading processes in Arabic, given its unique orthographic nature of natural inherent variations of inter letter spacing, the current study examined the extent and influence of connectedness disparity during single word recognition using the optimal viewing position (OVP) paradigm (three-, four- and five-letter stimuli presented at a normal reading size, at all possible locations). The initial word viewing position was systematically manipulated by shifting words horizontally relative to an imposed initial viewing position. Variations in recognition and processing time were measured as a function of initial viewing position. Fully connected/unconnected Arabic words were used. It was found that OVP effects occurred during the processing of isolated Arabic words. In Arabic, the OVP may be in the center of the word. No OVP was found in three-letter words; for four- and five-letter words, the OVP effect appeared as a U-shaped curve with a minimum towards the second and third letters. Thus, the OVP effects generalize across structurally different alphabetic scripts.

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An Optimal Viewing Position Effect in the Stroop Task When Only One Letter Is the Color Carrier

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.54.4.273 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 54 (4) ◽

pp. 273-280 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Ben A. Parris ◽

Dinkar Sharma ◽

Brendan Weekes

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Visual Word Recognition ◽

Stroop Task ◽

Position Effect ◽

Automatic Processing ◽

Stroop Interference ◽

Single Letter ◽

Visual Word ◽

Optimal Viewing Position ◽

Viewing Position

Abstract. Coloring only a single letter in the Stroop task can result in a reduction or elimination of Stroop interference. The present experiments were designed to test whether this modulation of Stroop interference occurs at all letter positions. Specifically, we investigated whether Stroop interference was reduced when the colored letter occupied the optimal viewing position (OVP). The experiments show that Stroop interference is not reduced at the OVP (Experiment 1) and that Stroop interference at the OVP is significantly greater than at other letter positions (Experiments 1 and 2). This finding has important theoretical and methodological consequences for studies of automatic processing in visual word recognition.

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