title: Visual and phonetic codes and the process of generation in letter matching.
abstract: Physically identical letter pairs are matched more quickly than are nominally identical or nonidentical pairs, which is an effect usually interpreted as resulting from the use of a visual memory code versus a phonetic or name code. However, prior manipulations of phonetic confusion and visual-field lateralization have provided little evidence consistent with this notion. Here, three reaction time experiments suggest through converging confusion and visual-field manipulations that a phonetic code is not used in either simultaneous or successive letter matching. Two additional experiments yield confusion evidence consistent with a rapid visual generation process underlying nominally identical and nonidentical matches, emphasizing the role of visual memory processes in all of the commonly used same-different letter-matching tasks. Implications for coding and hemispheric theories are discussed.
mesh_terms: D005556:Form Perception; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010700:Phonetics; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011930:Reaction Time; D014794:Visual Fields