From Graphemes to Abstract Letter Shapes: Levels of Representation in Written Spelling

Brenda Rapp, Alfonso Caramazza

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

111 Scopus citations

Abstract

The letter substitution errors of 2 dysgraphic subjects who, despite relatively intact oral spelling, made well-formed letter substitution errors in written spelling, were studied. Many of these errors bear a general physical similarity to the intended target. Analyses revealed that this similarity apparently was based on the features of the component strokes of letters rather than on visuospatial characteristics. A comparison of these subjects' letter substitution errors with those of 2 other individuals with brain damage, whose damage was at a different level of processing, revealed that the latter subjects' errors are not explicable in terms of stroke-feature similarity. Strong support was found for the computation of multiple representational types in the course of written spelling. This system includes a relatively abstract, effector-independent representational level that specifies the features of the component strokes of letters.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1130-1152
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Volume23
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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