title: The Effects of Spaced Character Formats on the Production and Legibility of Handwritten Names.
abstract: Three alternative formats for handwritten answers were compared in terms of their case of use. Two of these formats were typical of those employed in the preparation of information for computer analysis. These formats involved subdivisions for spacing individual characters. The third format was a simple unspaced blank. Using speed as a dependent variable, spaced character formats were found to impair both writing and reading and to increase the estimated time required for reading. This impairment in writing and reading was greater with a format in which the characters were spaced by small equidistant vertical marks than with a format in which the spaces for individual characters were defined by a sequence of boxes.
authors.affiliation: a MRC Applied Psychology Unit , Cambridge.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.affiliation: a MRC Applied Psychology Unit , Cambridge.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wright