Visual capability to receive character information. Part I: How many characters can we recognize at a glance?
A study was made on the capability to receive character information and the factors restricting it. The study showed that the capability indicated by the memory span was limited by the average number of characters for words that are made up of individual characters, and calculated in terms of information quantity, there was no difference among the individual characters. The differences in memory span, depending on the size of the pattern presented, was negligible. The difference in the way characters were arranged produced the difference in memory span saturation. This phenomenon is explained by the nature of the lateral interference effect working among the adjacent characters.
Fukuda
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Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University, Kanagawa-ken, Japan.
D001288:Attention; D016288:Computer Terminals; D003626:Data Display; D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time