Abstract
Recent emphasis on the interactive nature of processing during reading has focused attention on how higher level syntactic-semantic processes might constrain or alter the processing of letters and words during reading. The present studies addressed this question by examining the effect of prior knowledge about a passage on the subsequent ability to see visual errors when rereading the same text. Experiment 1 demonstrated that prior knowledge of a passage leads to better proofreading of that passage. Experiment 2 showed that this facilitation is at the level of visual letter and word analyses, not through higher level constraints on rereading. The data are discussed in terms of skilled visual pattern analyses and in terms of the redistribution of processing resources.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References Note
Zola, D.The effect of redundancy on the perception of words in reading. Manuscript submitted for publication, 1981.
References
Cole, R. A., &Jakimik, J. Understanding speech: How words are heard. In G.Underwood (Ed.),Strategies of information processing. New York.: Academic Press, 1978.
Cole, R. A., &Jakimik, J. A model of speech perception. In R. A. Cole (Ed.),Perception and production of fluent speech. Hillsdale, N.J: Erlbaum, 1980.
Cole, R. A., &Perfetti, C. A. Listening for mispronunciations in a children’s story: The use of context by children and adults.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1980,19, 297–315.
Drewnowski, A., &Healy, A. F. Detection of errors on theand: Evidence for reading units larger than the word.Memory & Cognition, 1977,5, 636–647.
Ehrlich, S. F., &Rayner, K. Contextual effects on word perception and eye movements during reading.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1981,20, 641–655.
Haber, R. N., &Schindler, R. M. Errors in proofreading: Evidence of syntactic control of letter processing?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1981,7, 573–579.
Healy, A. F. Detection errors on the wordthe: Evidence for reading units longer than letters.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1976,2, 235–242.
Healy, A. F. Proofreading errors on the word the: New evidence on reading units.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1980,6, 45–57.
Kolers, P. A., &Magee, L. E. Specificity of pattern-analyzing skills in reading.Canadian Journal of Psychology, 1978,32, 43–51.
Kolers, P. A., Palef, S. R., &Stelmach, L. B. Graphemic analysis underlying literacy.Memory & Cognition, 1980,8, 322–328.
Kreuger, L. E. Familiarity effects in visual information processing.PsychologicaI Bulletin, 1975,82, 949–974
Kreuger, L. E., &Weiss, M. E. Letter search through words and nonwords: The effect of Voted, absent, or mutilated targets.Memory & Cognition, 1976,4, 200–206.
Kreuger, L. E., &Shapiro, R. G. Letter detection with rapid serial visual presentation: Evidence against word superiority at feature extraction.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1979,5, 657–673.
Levy, B. A. Interactive processing during reading. In A. M. Lesgold & C. A. Perfetti (Eds.),Interactive processes in reading. Hillsdale, N.J: Erlbaum, 1981.
Marslen-Wilson, W. D., &Welsh, A. Processing interactions at lexical access during word recognition in continuous speech.Cognitive Psychology, 1978,10, 29–63.
McConkie, G. W., &Zola, D. Language constraints and the functional stimulus in reading. In A. M. Lesgold & C. A. Perfetti (Eds.),Interactive processes in reading. Hillsdale, N.J: Erlbaum, 1981.
Reicher, G. M. Perceptual recognition as a function of meaningfulness of stimulus material.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1969,81, 274–280.
Rumelhart, D. E. Toward an interactive model of reading. In S. Dornic (Ed.),Attention and performance VI. Hillsdale, N.J: Erlbaum, 1977.
Rumelhart, D. E., &McClelland, J. L. An interactive activation model of context effects in letter perception: Part 2. The contextual enhancement effect and some tests and extensions of the model.Psychological Review, 1982,89, 60–94.
Schindler, R. M. The effect of prose context on visual search for letters.Memory & Cognition, 1978,6, 124–130.
Wheeler, D. Processes in word recognition.Cognitive Psychology, 1970,1, 59–85.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by Grant A7657 from the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levy, B.A. Proofreading familiar text: Constraints on visual processing. Memory & Cognition 11, 1–12 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197655
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197655