Role of Visual Acuity in Tachistoscopic Recognition of Three-Letter Words

Abstract

It has been suggested that a correlation between word recognition and visual acuity would constitute a confounding influence in word-recognition studies within a laterality paradigm. 20 Ss made binary judgments concerning the presence or absence of a spatial gap in a tachistoscopically presented line target positioned at .75°, 1.5°, 3.0°, and 6.0° in either visual field. Gap detection was superior in the right visual field ( p = .02) at the 6.0° position. Word recognition was determined for tachistoscopically presented three-letter words positioned along a 6.0° vertical meridian in either visual field. Visual acuity performance was not related to word recognition either for the group or for individual Ss. The data therefore do not encourage the view that normal variations in acuity significantly affect word recognition in laterality studies.