Comparing reading speed for horizontal and vertical English text.
There are three formats for arranging English text for vertical reading-upright letters arranged vertically (marquee), and horizontal text rotated 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise. Previous research has shown that reading is slower for all three vertical formats than for horizontal text, with marquee being slowest (M. D. Byrne, 2002). It has been proposed that the size of the visual span-the number of letters recognized with high accuracy without moving the eyes-is a visual factor limiting reading speed. We predicted that reduced visual-span size would be correlated with the slower reading for the three vertical formats. We tested this prediction with uppercase and lowercase letters. Reading performance was measured using two presentation methods: RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) and flashcard (a block of text on four lines). On average, reading speed for horizontal text was 139% faster than marquee text and 81% faster than the rotated texts. Size of the visual span was highly correlated with changes in reading speed for both lowercase and uppercase letters and for both RSVP and flashcard reading. Our results are consistent with the view that slower reading of vertical text is due to a decrease in the size of the visual span for vertical reading.
Yu
Deyue
D
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. dion@berkeley.edu
Park
Heejung
H
Gerold
David
D
Legge
Gordon E
GE
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time; D011932:Reading; D015354:Vision, Low; D014794:Visual Fields; D055815:Young Adult
Vision Res. 2004 Mar;44(7):695-709
14751554
Vision Res. 2001 Mar;41(6):725-43
11248262
Biometrics. 1990 Sep;46(3):673-87
2242409
Am J Optom Physiol Opt. 1986 Feb;63(2):113-8
3953754
Percept Psychophys. 2002 Jul;64(5):785-94
12201337
Vision Res. 2002 Jun;42(12):1583-92
12074952
Vision Res. 2007 Sep;47(19):2499-505
17675131
J Exp Psychol. 1952 Jan;43(1):43-8
14907990
J Vis. 2007 Mar 07;7(2):9.1-15
18217824
Nature. 1996 Sep 26;383(6598):334-7
8848045
Vision Res. 2010 Jan;50(1):36-45
19819251
Biometrics. 1975 Jun;31(2):423-47
1174616
Vision Res. 2007 Oct;47(22):2889-900
17845810
J Rehabil Res Dev. 1999 Oct;36(4):356-64
10678458
J Exp Psychol. 1963 Dec;66:568-71
14087633
Percept Mot Skills. 1965 Jun;20:SUPPL:1222-4
14329681
Psychol Rev. 1997 Jul;104(3):524-53
9243963
Ophthalmology. 1997 Apr;104(4):632-8
9111255
Vision Res. 2005 Oct;45(21):2820-30
16051308
Ger J Ophthalmol. 1993 Aug;2(4-5):251-5
8220108
J Rehabil Res Dev. 2006 Sep-Oct;43(6):761-70
17310425
Vision Res. 2007 Aug;47(17):2327-36
17662333
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1985 Aug;11(4):490-508
3161988
Optom Vis Sci. 1998 Dec;75(12):873-8
9875992
Optom Vis Sci. 1989 Dec;66(12):843-53
2626251
Vision Res. 1985;25(2):253-65
4013092
Vision Res. 1992 Jul;32(7):1349-57
1455707
J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1984 Jul;10(3):421-34
6235309
Neuropsychologia. 1997 Apr;35(4):487-95
9106277
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1989 Feb;15(1):153-63
2522525
Spat Vis. 1997;10(4):437-42
9176953
Neuropsychologia. 2001;39(4):430-9
11164882
J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2002 Dec;19(12):2349-62
12469729
Psychon Bull Rev. 2002 Dec;9(4):714-22
12613674
Vision Res. 1973 Apr;13(4):767-82
4706350
Vision Res. 1985;25(2):239-52
4013091
Vision Res. 2003 Jul;43(16):1777-87
12818347
Ophthalmology. 1996 Sep;103(9):1458-66
8841306
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1992 Mar;33(3):677-87
1544792
J Exp Psychol Gen. 1982 Jun;111(2):239-41
6213736
Spat Vis. 1997;10(4):433-6
9176952
Percept Mot Skills. 1965 Oct;21(2):431-7
5848913
Vision Res. 2002 Aug;42(18):2219-234
12207981
Spat Vis. 2001;15(1):61-75
11893125
Optom Vis Sci. 2005 Mar;82(3):177-85
15767869
J Vis. 2007 Oct 26;7(2):20.1-36
18217835
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2002 Apr;43(4):1270-6
11923275
J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 1995 Oct;12(10):2286-92
7500210
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2008 Feb;49(2):828-35
18235034
Vision Res. 1998 Oct;38(19):2949-62
9797990
J Vis. 2007 Feb 01;7(2):2.1-10
18217817
J Vis. 2007 Jul 17;7(2):13.1-10
18217828