A recent cross-cultural comparison (Shaki, Fischer, & Petrusic, 2009) suggested that spatially consistent processing habits for words and numbers are a necessary condition for the spatial representation of numbers (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes; SNARC effect). Here we reexamine the SNARC in Israelis who read text from right…

The articles in this section describe research on reading in areas of visual persistence, letter identification, letter probability, word superiority effect, proofreader errors and order effects. This review challenges fellow basic researchers to become more aware of the components of reading before adding new data purporting to delineate the…

What form is the lexical phonology that gives rise to phonological effects in visual lexical decision? The authors explored the hypothesis that beyond phonological contrasts the physical phonetic details of words are included. Three experiments using lexical decision and 1 using naming compared processing times for printed words (e.g., plead and…

Rayner and Slowiaczek have a different conception of the issues our experiments address than we do. These differences are discussed. Our main point, is that the extent to which the preview produces a benefit depends on the subject's expectations. (Author/RD)

Three classes of research on reading are identified. The articles of this section pertain to investigation of the organization and operation of basic processing mechanisms underlying skilled reading; each is described briefly and commented upon. Particular attention is devoted to the articles on context effects. (Author/RD)

McClelland and O'Regan's interpretation of data may not be appropriate. One could argue that subjects used different strategies in the expectation and no-expectation conditions. Second, an inappropriate baseline condition may have been used. Finally their results may not be generalizable to the use of parafoveal vision during reading. (Author/RD)

The Posner-Snyder two-process theory of expectancy explains results of studies on the effect of sentence context on ongoing word recognition. Three studies tested the applicability of the theory to the performance of fluent adult readers. Difficult words displayed larger context effects than did easy words. (Author/RD)

Two experiments demonstrated that a priori expectations and context increase the benefit gained from a preview of a word in parafoveal vision. Subjects named visually presented words preceded by a "preview" stimulus with and without constraints. Subjects combine two sources of information so as to derive a benefit. (Author/RD)