title: Trade-offs in detecting letters and comprehending text.
abstract: Critics of the letter detection task have questioned whether findings from that paradigm reflect normal reading processes. The present study addresses these questions using a new computerized version of the letter detection task in which reading rate along with letter detection and comprehension accuracy are examined. Previous letter detection findings were replicated with this new computerized task. Different conditions were compared in which detection and comprehension instructions were manipulated as well as the salience of the target letters. The requirement to comprehend had small effects on letter detection accuracy and reading rate, and letter detection only modestly reduced comprehension. Thus, the procedures developed in this study permit examination of the component processes contributing to performance in the letter detection task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309-0345, USA. william.oliver@colorado.edu
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: Alice F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: Ernest F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Mross
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D015709:Correspondence as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading; D013223:Statistics as Topic