Cite as:
Fischer M H, 2000, "Word centre is misperceived" Perception 29(3) 337 – 354
Download citation data in RIS format

Word centre is misperceived

Martin H Fischer

Received 14 September 1998, in revised form 24 August 1999

Abstract. Normal readers were asked to mark the middle of visually presented words. They made systematic errors toward the left, indicating an overestimation of the length of the beginning of a word. The number of characters determines the size of this error. The bias extended to pseudowords, letter strings, and symbols, but not to blocks, dashes, and lines. Finally, the bias was sensitive to typographical errors but not to colour cuing. These findings suggest that special cognitive operations determine the perceived spatial extent of words. Implications for our understanding of perceptual and cognitive processes in reading are discussed.

Restricted material:

 Full-text PDF size: 195 Kb

 References  35 references, 12 with DOI links ()

Your computer (IP address: 38.107.179.223) has not been recognised as being on a network authorised to view the full text or references of this article. This content is part of our deep back archive. If you are a member of a university library that has a subscription to the journal, please contact your serials librarian (subscriptions information).