Results are reported from two experiments bearing on right-left retinal differences in tachistoscopic identification. The first demonstrated a significant right-left difference in scores for words, but no difference for anagrams interspersed with the words in random succession. In the second, instructional sets (pre- and post-exposure) set up directional tendencies leading to right-left differences in ease of identification. These findings are viewed as favoring an attentional rather than a neurological basis for right-left retinal differences in identification; specifically, they point to the role of previous reading habits in arousing sets conducive to directional eye movements.
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