Abstract
This investigation attempted to determine if the perceptual unit in reading was the letter or some other unit larger than the letter. Good readers in two grades read material changed to include particular types of orthographic anomalies. Subjects read seven passages. One passage contained no anomalies, the remaining six contained anomalies varying in degree and position. The dependent variable was the time necessary to read each passage.
The results indicated that fifth grade subjects read all passages less rapidly than sixth grade subjects. The results also indicated that anomalized passages were read less rapidly than non-anomalized passages and that anomalies in the final position were less disruptive than anomalies in the beginning and middle position. No differences were found when anomalies in the middle position were compared to anomalies in the beginning position or when major anomalies were compared to minor anomalies.
The results of the present study support a conclusion that word recognition while reading connected discourse is different from word recognition in isolation. The results also lend support for a left to right analysis of letter features within words until the word is identified, at which point the reader discards the unused letters.