E-Thesis 597 views 116 downloads
Word length effects in the left and right cerebral hemispheres: The right visual field advantage. / Victoria Caroline Wright
Swansea University Author: Victoria Caroline Wright
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Abstract
It has long been known that word length has a larger influence on the recognition ofwords presented in the left visual field than the right visual field, an effectcommonly referred to as the length by visual field interaction. The aim of thepresent thesis was to explore the neural and behavioural ef...
| Published: |
2011
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa43173 |
| Abstract: |
It has long been known that word length has a larger influence on the recognition ofwords presented in the left visual field than the right visual field, an effectcommonly referred to as the length by visual field interaction. The aim of thepresent thesis was to explore the neural and behavioural effects of the length byvisual field interaction. In doing so, it was expected that the results wouldcontribute to and extend the body of behavioural research in this area, particularlyin regard to the hemispheric processing of words. Chapter One presents a generaloverview of the thesis; in Chapter Two, the nature of the right visual field advantageis reviewed, with particular reference to previous work that has demonstrateddifferential effects of word length in each of the cerebral hemispheres. Models thatseek to account for visual field asymmetries are also reviewed. Chapter Threeoutlines the key methods adopted in the thesis, namely, the divided visual field taskand the use of event-related potentials. Chapters Four and Five present the resultsof two experiments that explored the neural effect of increasing word length ineach of the hemispheres. The results provided ERP evidence of early processingdissociations between the hemispheres in terms of words and non-words ofdifferent lengths. Experiments 3-6 explored the effect of orthographic uniquenesspoint in each of the visual fields, as a means of exploring the nature of processingconducted by each hemisphere. Across three experiments, it was shown that wordswith a late uniqueness point were recognised faster and more accurately thanwords with an early uniqueness point. This facilitation for late uniqueness pointwords was evident in the ERP response at 170ms. Furthermore, orthographicuniqueness point was shown to differentially affect each of the hemispheres.Experiments 6-9 provided evidence to suggest that the interaction of length andvisual field was influenced by orthographic depth, a property of language thatreflects the transparency with which sounds are represented in print. In ChapterTen, the effect of format distortion on the interaction of length and visual field wasexplored. Finally, Chapter Ten summarises and discuss the key findings of thepresent thesis in light of theories that seek to account for lateralised wordrecognition. |
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| Keywords: |
Word recognition |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |