The effect of pronounceability on the recognition process of visually-presented words

Abstract

The pronounceability of visually-presented words has been suggested to influence the retention of words. However, it remains unclear as to whether pronounceability affects the encoding process of visually-presented words or whether it only influences subsequent process of memory retention. We investigated the recognition thresholds of tachistoscopically presented words. In Experiment 1, we classified words based on a prior study of word pronounceability and compare the recognition thresholds among easy-to-pronounce words, difficult-to-pronounce words, and non-words. In Experiment 2, we conducted a word naming task and classified words as easy-to-pronounce and difficult-to-pronounce based on speech duration of the words. In both experiments, no significant differences were observed in the recognition thresholds for easy-to-pronounce and difficult-to-pronounce words. These findings suggest that the recognition processing of visually-presented words is identical regardless of word pronounceability and that pronounceability may influence the subsequent process of memory retention. Moreover, we also investigate the possible application of a presentation-duration design for dynamic information.