Abstract
A short term recognition memory task which varied the number of letters distinguishing target and comparison stimuli was used to assess the ability of prereaders and beginning readers to utilize graphic information in a three letter graphic pattern. In Experiment 1 the Exposure Time of the target stimulus and the Retention Interval were varied. Results indicated that children were not able to process the graphic pattern as a single unit. Children based their same-different judgments on only limited graphic information and displayed clear saliency effects of the initial letter position. In fact, stimuli distinguished by an initial letter difference were more discriminable than those which differed in both middle and final letter positions. An Exposure Time × Position interaction supports the interpretation that position saliency is in part the result of serial encoding. Contrary to some explanations of position saliency, both readers and non-readers demonstrated the effect. In Experiment 2, beginning kindergarten children failed to demonstrate an effect of position. These studies indicate that early reading or prereading activities result in serial encoding strategies.