Reading and remembering: Conceptual and perceptual processing involved in reading rotated passages

Abstract

Three experiments are reported that investigated the conceptual and perceptual processing involved in reading rotated, compared with normally oriented, typescript. These studies localized the effects of reading rotated text by measuring reading speed, detection of typographical errors, comprehension question answering, and time to reread a passage. The first experiment also compared the processing of conceptually difficult material with the processing of difficult typescript in order to examine changes in the involvement of conceptual and perceptual processes to meet text and task demands. The results indicated that the superior comprehension of rotated text is due to more conceptual, not more perceptual, processing. The studies also showed the flexibility in the use of different processes to meet text and task requirements. Only multiple performance measures can reflect the total processing picture involved in fluent reading.