The effects of inter-letter spacing in visual-word recognition: Evidence with young normal readers and developmental dyslexics |
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| Authors: | Manuel Perea Victoria Panadero Carmen Moret-Tatay Pablo Gómez |
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| Institution: | 1. ERI-Lectura, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain;2. Universidad Católica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain;3. DePaul University, Chicago, USA;1. Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany;2. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China;1. Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1018 XA, The Netherlands;2. IWAL Institute, Amsterdam 1052 GM, The Netherlands;3. Amsterdam Center for Learning Disabilities [Expertisecentrum Leerproblemen], Amsterdam 1018 XE, The Netherlands;1. UMR 1141 Inserm - Paris Diderot University, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France;2. Institute of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Cruzeiro do Sul University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil;3. Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil;4. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France;1. UMR 1141 Inserm - Paris Diderot University, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France;2. Institute of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, Cruzeiro do Sul University, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil;3. Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil;4. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France |
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| Abstract: | Recent research has demonstrated that slight increases of inter-letter spacing have a positive impact on skilled readers' recognition of visually presented words. In the present study, we examined whether this effect generalises to young normal readers and readers with developmental dyslexia, and whether increased inter-letter spacing affects the reading times and comprehension of a short text. To that end, we conducted a series of lexical decision and continuous reading experiments in which words were presented with the default settings or with a small increase in inter-letter spacing. Increased spacing produced shorter word identification times not only with adult skilled readers (Experiment 1), but also with young normal readers (Grade 2 and Grade 4 children; Experiment 2) and, even to a larger degree, with readers with dyslexia (Experiments 3 and 4). These experiments suggest that slight increases in inter-letter spacing would improve the readability of texts aimed at children, especially those with dyslexia. |
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