Automatic keypress activation in skilled typing

The assumption that letters automatically activate corresponding keypresses in skilled typing was investigated. Participants responded to the color of letters (congruent condition: responding finger was the one usually used to type the letter). Participants skilled in typing showed a congruency effect: unskilled participants did not (Experiment 1). The automatic activation included characteristics of the movement usually performed to type the letters (Experiment 2). Responding with crossed hands on an external response device (Experiment 3) provided evidence for effector-dependent representations only, whereas responding on a keyhoard (Experiment 4) resulted in evidence for effector-dependent and spatial representations. Thus, motoric skill proficiency is accompanied by automatic activation processes that probably contribute to high performance levels.     

Effects of age and skill in typing

What are the factors responsible for skilled typing performance, and do they change with the age of the typist? These questions were addressed in two studies by examining time and accuracy of keystrokes in a variety of typinglike activities among typists ranging in speed from 17 to 104 net words per minute and ranging in age from 19 to 72 years old. Typing skill was related to the temporal consistency of making the same keystroke, the efficiency of overlapping successive keystrokes, the speed of alternate-hand tapping, and the number of characters of to-be-typed text required to maintain a normal rate of typing. Older typists were slower in tapping rate and in choice reaction time but were not slower in speed of typing, apparently because they were more sensitive to characters farther in advance of the currently typed character than young typists.     

The influence of writing practice on letter recognition in preschool children: a comparison between handwriting and typing

A large body of data supports the view that movement plays a crucial role in letter representation and suggests that handwriting contributes to the visual recognition of letters. If so, changing the motor conditions while children are learning to write by using a method based on typing instead of handwriting should affect their subsequent letter recognition performances. In order to test this hypothesis, we trained two groups of 38 children (aged 3-5 years) to copy letters of the alphabet either by hand or by typing them. After three weeks of learning, we ran two recognition tests, one week apart, to compare the letter recognition performances of the two groups. The results showed that in the older children, the handwriting training gave rise to a better letter recognition than the typing training.     

Embodied preference judgments: can likeability be driven by the motor system?

Can covert sensorimotor simulation of stimulus-relevant actions influence affective judgments, even when there is no intention to act? Skilled and novice typists picked which of two letter dyads they preferred. In each pair, one dyad, if typed using standard typing methods, would involve the same fingers (e.g., FV); the other would be typed with different fingers (e.g., FJ). Thus, if typed, dyads of the former kind should create more motor interference than dyads of the latter kind. Although individuals could not explain how the dyads differed, skilled typists preferred those typed with different fingers. Novices showed no preference. Moreover, a motor task performed while making dyad preference judgments attenuated skilled typists' preference--but only when the motor task involved the specific fingers that would be used to type the dyads. These findings suggest that in skilled typists, perceiving letters prompts covert sensorimotor simulation of typing them, which in turn influences affective judgments about this information.     

Attention to the hands disrupts skilled typewriting: The role of vision in producing the disruption

Drawing typists' attention to their hands by asking them to type only letters assigned to the left or the right hand disrupts their performance, slowing the rate of typing and increasing errors. In this article we test the hypothesis that slowing occurs because typists watch their hands to determine which hand types which letter. Skilled typists were cued to type letters of one hand or of both hands while they could view their hands on the keyboard and while their vision was blocked by a box placed over the keyboard. Typing was slower when letters of one hand were typed than when letters of both hands were typed, and the slowing was greater when the hands were covered than when they were not. This supports the hypothesis that slowing occurs because typists watch their hands. However, typists were able to type letters of one hand when the keyboard was covered, so typists must have monitored kinesthetic information as well.     

Lexical decision in a phonologically shallow orthography

The Serbo-Croatian language is written in two alphabets, Roman and Cyrillic. Both orthographies transcribe the sounds of the language in a regular and straightforward fashion and may, therefore, be referred to as phonologically shallow in contrast to English orthography, which is phonologically deep. Most of the alphabet characters are unique to one alphabet or the other. There are, however, a number of shared characters, some of which receive the same reading and some of which receive a different reading, in the two alphabets. It is possible, therefore, to construct a variety of types of letter strings. Some of these can be read in only one way and can be either a word or nonsense. Other letter strings can be pronounced one way if read as Roman and in a distinctively different way if read as Cyrillic and can be words in both alphabets—but different words; or they can be nonsense in both alphabets or nonsense in one alphabet and a word in the other. In a lexical decision task conducted with bialphabetical readers, it was shown that words that can be read in two different ways are accepted more slowly and with greater error than words that can be read only one way. It was concluded that for the phonologically shallow writing systems of Serbo-Croatian, lexical decision proceeds with reference to the phonology.     

Learning of letter names and sounds and their contribution to word recognition

This study investigated knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, their learning, and their contributions to word recognition. Of 123 preschoolers examined on letter knowledge, 65 underwent training on both letter names and letter sounds in a counterbalanced order. Prior to training, children were more advanced in associating letters with their names than with their sounds and could provide the sound of a letter only if they could name it. However, children learned more easily to associate letters with sounds than with names. Training just on names improved performance on sounds, but the sounds produced were extended (CV) rather than phonemic. Learning sounds facilitated later learning of the same letters' names, but not vice versa. Training either on names or on sounds improved word recognition and explanation of printed words. Results are discussed with reference to cognitive and societal factors affecting letter knowledge acquisition, features of the Hebrew alphabet and orthography, and educational implications.     

Simulating a skilled typist: a study of skilled cognitive-motor performance

We review the major phenomena of skilled typing and propose a model for the control of the hands and fingers during typing. The model is based upon an Activation-Trigger-Schema system in which a hierarchical structure of schemata directs the selection of the letters to be typed and, then, controls the hand and finger movements by a cooperative, relaxation algorithm. The interactions of the patterns of activation and inhibition among the schemata determine the temporal ordering for launching the keystrokes. To account for the phenomena of doubling errors, the model has only “type” schemata—no “token” schemata—with only a weak binding between the special schema that signals a doubling, and its argument. The model exists as a working computer simulation and produces an output display of the hands and fingers moving over the keyboard. It reproduces some of the major phenomena of typing, including the interkeystroke interval times, the pattern of transposition errors found in skilled typists, and doubling errors. Although the model is clearly inadequate or wrong in some of its features and assumptions, it serves as a useful first approximation for the understanding of skilled typing.     

Differential backward masking of words and letters by masks of varying orthographic structure

The effects of structural relationships between targets and masks were investigated using a backward-masking paradigm. Specifically, the masking of single letters, common fiveletter words, and five-letter pseudowords masked by a blank flash, strings of overlapped letters, pseudowords, and words was investigated. Target duration was varied from 2 to 32 msec, with mask duration held constant at 25 msec. The dependent measure was the critical interstimulus interval for correct target identification. Letters were more effectively masked than words and pseudowords. A blank mask caused the least amount of masking, followed by the overlapped letter strings, and then the word and pseudoword masks. In addition to the overall greater masking effectiveness for the three patterned masks, overlapped letter strings masked letters more effectively than they did words. The implications of current theories of masking for these results and the implications of these results for theories of word recognition were discussed.     

ALPHABET LETTERS AS TOKENS: TRAINING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN LETTER RECOGNITION AND LABELLING DURING A TOKEN EXCHANGE PERIOD1

In token economies, we typically consider the instructional opportunities available during the periods of token delivery, but may overlook educational opportunities available at the time of token exchange. The present studies examined the use of labelled tokens and routines in the token exchange period to teach alphabet letter recognition to economically disadvantaged preschool children. The children earned points for a variety of academic behaviors in an early morning classroom setting. At no time were alphabet letters introduced or taught during class. Later, during a midmorning token exchange period, operated according to a department store model, the children were given their points in the form of poker chips inscribed with upper-case alphabet letters. They were required to discriminate among these lettered chips before exchanging them for backup reinforcers sold in four or five stores. To assess alphabet letter knowledge, probe evaluations were periodically conducted in which questions requiring alphabet letter recognition and labelling were asked. The answers to these questions were not reinforced. Alphabet letter training during token exchange periods consisted of having a child display the lettered chips, whereupon a teacher asked a number of recognition-type questions. Wrong answers were corrected, and correct answers praised. The child was allowed to exchange the tokens when the number required for a purchase had been recognized correctly. The periodic probe evaluations revealed consistent increases in correct alphabet letter recognition and, as a byproduct, alphabet labelling was facilitated, even though not explicitly trained. Thus, once the letters were recognized, correct labelling shortly followed. The sequential training of new sets of letters was used to demonstrate experimental control within subjects for two children. A control for exposure to the letters was provided by using the labelled tokens, but requiring the counting of chips rather than letter discrimination in the exchange period for two other children. This procedure produced chance levels of letter recognition, which were subsequently improved when the discrimination procedure was added. Posttraining probes, conducted at one and three weeks after training when the labelled tokens and discrimination routines were no longer in use, revealed the same high levels of recognition and labelling performance found during training. Thus, it appears that labelled tokens may be used to teach discriminations during token exchange periods so long as responses are differentiated on the basis of relevant dimensions of the stimuli.     

Letters and words in word identification

Studies by Barron and Henderson (1977) and Johnson (1975) provide evidence that whole words may be the unit of identification in word perception, rather than single letters. Johnson found that words were matched faster than a letter to the first letter in a word. Barron and Henderson found faster matching times for words than for legal non-word items in a letter-matching task. These findings support the interpretation that words are identified before individual letters. If so, a word-frequency effect should be expected. Experiments 1 and 2 tested for word vs. first-letter-in-word differences, as well as for a word-frequency effect in simultaneous and delayed visual matching tasks. In the simultaneous task, first letters in words were matched faster than words. In the delayed task, there was no difference between matching words or matching the first letters in words. With both tasks there was a word-frequency effect for word matches but not for first-letter-in-word matches. In Experiment 3, first-letter matching time was unrelated to word frequency or lexical status, although it did vary with orthographic legality. These results, on the whole, are consistent with a race model in which identifications take place simultaneously at word, letter-cluster, and letter levels, rather than a sequential model in which the whole word is identified before the component letters.     

Processing sets of letters for order: Evidence from reaction time experiments

In two experiments, subjects were required to impose different levels of organization on randomly ordered letters. In a between-subject design, the subject was to identify the letter in the set coming first in the alphabet or to reorganize the set into an alphabetic sequence. In a within-subject design, presentation of the letters was followed by an instruction to carry out the identification or reorganization task or to recite the letters in left-to-right order. Reaction time varied systematically with level of required organization, size of the presented set, and position and spacing of the letter set in the alphabet. The results are discussed in terms of two simple models.     

Preferring alphabet–keyboard compatibility: Congruency between spatial codes shapes the affective connotation of letters

When letters are encountered, two spatial stimulus codes resulting from their positions within the alphabet and on the computer keyboard are activated mentally. If these two spatial codes match, letter processing is more efficient. The present study tested whether the processing fluency gain resulting from alphabet–keyboard compatibility also enhances affective evaluations of letters. In Experiment 1, participants preferred alphabet–keyboard compatible over incompatible letters in a forced-choice preference rating. Similarly, in Experiment 2, liking ratings for alphabet–keyboard compatible letters were higher compared to incompatible letters. Moreover, in Experiment 3, preference ratings of non-words were positively correlated with the relative number of alphabet–keyboard compatible letters within these letter strings. These findings suggest that alphabet–keyboard compatibility shapes the affective connotation of letters. Moreover, this processing fluency–valence association is activated at the level of letters as well as whole letter strings.     

Development of the letter identity span in reading: evidence from the eye movement moving window paradigm

By means of the moving window paradigm, we examined how many letters can be identified during a single eye fixation and whether this letter identity span changes as a function of reading skill. The results revealed that 8-year-old Finnish readers identify approximately 5 characters, 10-year-old readers identify approximately 7 characters, and 12-year-old and adult readers identify approximately 9 characters to the right of fixation. Comparison with earlier studies revealed that the letter identity span is smaller than the span for identifying letter features and that it is as wide in Finnish as in English. Furthermore, the letter identity span of faster readers of each age group was larger than that of slower readers, indicating that slower readers, unlike faster readers, allocate most of their processing resources to foveally fixated words. Finally, slower second graders were largely not disrupted by smaller windows, suggesting that their word decoding skill is not yet fully automatized.     

Motor imagery in typing: effects of typing style and action familiarity

The influences of typing style and action familiarity on executed and imagined typing were investigated. A group of touch typists and a group of hunt-and-peck typists were asked to imagine and execute typing texts of different lengths in two different styles: with ten fingers (familiar for touch typists, unfamiliar for hunt-and-peck typists) and with two fingers (unfamiliar for touch typists, familiar for hunt-and-peck typists). The imagination (but not the execution) of familiar and unfamiliar typing was correlated in both groups, indicating that participants used skill knowledge from the familiar action to imagine the unfamiliar action. Only when touch typists imagined familiar typing accurate motor imagery was observed (similar durations of and positive correlations between imagination and execution). When touch typists imagined unfamiliar typing, the average imagination durations resembled the execution durations, but correlations indicated individual differences in the processes of imagination and execution. Hunt-and-peck typists showed shorter imagination than execution durations with both familiar and unfamiliar typing, indicating that in both styles they did not imagine all details of typing. Also, they did not imagine some details specifically related to unfamiliar typing (reflected in particularly high percentages of absolute error). However, correlations indicated that individual difficulties in executing the unfamiliar action were reflected in the imagination durations. In conclusion, skill knowledge from familiar actions is used to imagine unfamiliar actions. Familiarity with actions promotes accurate motor imagery, but only if stable internal action representations have been acquired, and not if action control relies on online, step-by-step control. However, stable internal action representations of familiar actions may be detrimental for imagery of unfamiliar actions.     

Using words instead of jumbled characters as stimuli in keyboard training facilitates fluent performance

Keyboarding skill is an important target for adult education programs due to the ubiquity of computers in modern work environments. A previous study showed that novice typists learned key locations quickly but that fluency took a relatively long time to develop. In the present study, novice typists achieved fluent performance in nearly half the time when words rather than jumbled characters were used as stimuli. This suggests that using real words in the keyboarding program can enhance the efficiency of training.     

Explorations of familiarity produced by words with specific combinations of letters

We explore familiarity-based recognition using a paradigm devised by Parkin et al. (2001). The task consists of the creation of two lists of words written with one of two different subsets of letters of the alphabet. We manipulated study time (50, 100, 200, 500 ms per word) of words with different letter probabilistic structure to those originally used by Parkin et al. Letter-based familiarity responding was robust and present even at rates producing otherwise chance performance. A second experiment and structural equation modelling led us to interpret the results from the point of view of a theory that takes into account the processing of similarities and differences (Hunt & MacDaniel, 1993). Finally, our data indicate that the experimental procedure devised by Parkin et al. is an excellent tool with which to study familiarity, once the structure of probabilities of individual letters is considered as the key factor in inducing the effect.