Reaction Time to Normal and Reflected Letter-Strings in Different Orientations

Abstract

Reaction times for discriminating between normal and reflected (mirror-image) letter-strings in six different orientations were measured in six men and six women. The letter-strings were the word FROG, the reverse word GORF, and the nonword GFRO. Analysis showed that reaction time increased in relation to the deviation from standard upright orientation of the normal letter-strings in a way similar to what Cooper and Shepard found for single letters. With reflected letter-strings, however, reaction time decreased slightly when the strings departed from a normal upright position, but otherwise changed irregularly in relation to the angle of orientation.