Unraveling the mystery of mirror writing in typically developing children.

Abstract

Most studies of mirror writing have focused on specific populations (e.g., pathological cases) or conditions (e.g., right-handed individuals writing with their left hand); hence, many simple questions about mirror writing in typically developing 5-year-old children remain unanswered. The present study addresses 2 simple but important issues concerning the relation between (a) mirror copying single characters (digits and capital letters) and mirror writing the same characters from memory and (b) mirror writing single characters and mirror writing whole words (e.g., 1st name). To shed light on these issues, the authors carried out 3 experimental studies of children at ecoles maternelles in France. The results offer new insights into the phenomenon of mirror writing. A copying task generated considerably fewer mirror writings than a writing-from-memory task, and there was a significant but weak correlation (r S = .22) between single-character mirror writing and name mirror writing. Academic level correlated positively with the mirror writing of characters (r S = .15); however, it correlated more positively with correct writing (r S = .32) and negatively with no (or other incorrect) writing (r S = .45). This suggests that the mirror writings may occur (depending on the context) between some other incorrect writings (or absence of writing) and correct writings in the development of almost all children. In addition, contextual or situational factors, such as the preceding writing or the position of the writing on the page, had a much stronger influence on mirror writing than individual factors, such as writing hand or gender.