Context-dependent similarity effects in letter recognition.
Published version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Kinoshita, Sachiko
Robidoux, Serje
Guilbert, Daniel
Norris, Dennis https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9257-317X
Abstract
In visual word recognition tasks, digit primes that are visually similar to letter string targets (e.g., 4/A, 8/B) are known to facilitate letter identification relative to visually dissimilar digits (e.g., 6/A, 7/B); in contrast, with letter primes, visual similarity effects have been elusive. In the present study we show that the visual similarity effect with letter primes can be made to come and go, depending on whether it is necessary to discriminate between visually similar letters. The results support a Bayesian view which regards letter recognition not as a passive activation process driven by the fixed stimulus properties, but as a dynamic evidence accumulation process for a decision that is guided by the task context.
Description
Keywords
Abstract letter identity, Letter identification, Orthographic processing, Attention, Bayes Theorem, Comprehension, Decision Making, Discrimination, Psychological, Female, Humans, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Perceptual Masking, Reaction Time, Reading, Repetition Priming, Semantics, Young Adult
Journal Title
Psychon Bull Rev
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
1069-9384
1531-5320
1531-5320
Volume Title
22
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC