1

Phonological and Orthographic Processing: One or Both Hemispheres?

Jeffrey R. Mathesius
University of British Columbia Okanagan

A Directed Studies Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
in the Department of Psychology

Project Supervisor: Barbara J. Rutherford, Ph. D.

April 2009
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Abstract
Laterality refers to the contention that the left and right hemisphere of the brain process

information differently. Currently under debate is whether there is laterality of phonological

and orthographic processing. Two experiments used a lexical decision task and a priming

procedure along with a distractor to the left or right visual field to test laterality. Experiment I

manipulated sound similarity between strings whereas Experiment II manipulated visual

similarity between strings. Both experiments tested three hypotheses. First, primed letter

strings would be faster and more accurate than non-primed letter strings. Second, both

hemispheres would show priming. Third, the left hemisphere in Experiment I would show

greater priming than the right hemisphere, whereas the right hemisphere in Experiment II

would show greater priming than the left hemisphere.

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Contents
Abstract / 2
Table of Contents / 3
General Introduction / 4
Experiment I:
Introduction / 9
Method: Participants / 10
Method: Materials / 10
Method: Procedure / 10
Method: Design / 13
Results / 13
Discussion / 15
Experiment II:
Introduction / 17
Method: Participants / 17
Method: Materials / 17
Method: Procedure / 18
Method: Design / 18
Results / 19
Discussion / 22
General Discussion / 24
References / 26
Appendices
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Phonological and Orthographic Processing: One or Both Hemispheres?

Language for most humans is the primary source of communication and as a result is regarded as

an important part of human life. Language can be broken down into two parts: processing of language

and the production of language. The processing of language involves the appropriate sequencing of

mental steps in order to understand language. The production of language involves the verbal, written,

or signed forms of the specific language. Due to its importance, language has been widely studied by

linguists, psychologists, as well as neurologists. One of the most highly researched areas in language is

the laterality of reading.

Laterality of reading refers to the contention that the left and right side of the brain process

information differently. These differences are also known as asymmetries. Some of the first reports of

language lateralization began with Broca and Wernicke who introduced the idea of a unilateral left

hemisphere control over language functions (Broca, 1861; Wernicke, 1911, as cited by Szaflarski,

Holand, Schmithorst, & Byars, 2006). This idea is also known as an absolute model and suggests that

only the left hemisphere can process language. Other findings that have been interpreted to support this

absolute model are the costs to time and accuracy of language processing when the language is

presented to the right hemisphere (Beeman & Chiarello, 1998, as cited by Chiarello, Hasbrook, &

Maxfield, 1999). These findings have been suggested to be the result of callosal relay from the illiterate

right hemisphere to the more language dominant left hemisphere (Efron, 1963). However, there are

alternate interpretations of these findings. For example, relative models suggest that while the left

hemisphere is dominant for language processing (e.g., Iacoboni & Zaidel, 1996; Leiber, 1976;

Rutherford & Lutz, 2004), the right hemisphere does have some limited linguistic competence

(Chiarello, Hasbrooke, & Maxfield, 1999; Rutherford, 2006; Underwood, Rusted, & Thwaites, 1983).

According to this view, the costs to time and accuracy of language processing by the right hemisphere is
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due to the use of inefficient and less specialized strategies compared to the left hemisphere (Rutherford

& Lutz, 2004).

Research investigating the laterality of reading has, in the past, been typically conducted on

neurologically impaired humans. In fact, one of the major findings in this line of research was

discovered this way. For example, research with commissurotomy patients (e.g., Sidtis, Volpe, Wilson,

Rayport, & Gazzaniga, 1981; Zaidel & Peters, 1981) has revealed that there are different processing

strategies used by each hemisphere. One of these strategies is known as the lexical strategy. The lexical

strategy involves the matching of a whole letter string to a memory representation in the brain (Iacoboni

& Zaidel, 1996). This type of processing occurs with familiar words (Iacoboni & Zaidel, 1996) and is

believed to be available to both the left and right hemisphere (Rutherford, 2006). The second strategy is

known as the non-lexical strategy. This strategy involves the sounding out of words and usually occurs

with unfamiliar words (Iacoboni & Zaidel, 1996). It is believed that the non-lexical strategy is only

available to the left hemisphere. It is important to note that not only are individuals with different

neurological abilities used to study the laterality of reading but multiple experimental methods are used

as well.

Many different types of experimental methods have been used to analyze the laterality of

reading, some of which include the Wada test (e.g., Watson, Pusakulich, Ward, & Hermann, 1998),

dichotic listening tasks (e.g., Asbjornsen & Helland, 2006), and fMRI techniques (e.g., Szaflarski,

Holland, Schmithorst, & Byars, 2006). The most widely employed method, however, is the lexical

decision task (e.g., Bloch & Zaidel, 1996; Paap & Newsome, 1981; Rutherford, 2006; Rutherford &

Lutz, 2004). The lexical decision task involves the presentation of a group of letters, known as a letter

string, to a participant. The participant is instructed to respond if the letter string is, or is not, a word. In

a typical lexical decision task there are two types of letter strings: words and pseudowords. Word letter
 6

strings represent groups of letters that spell a word. Pseudowords are letter strings that follow the rules

of spelling but are not actual words (e.g., Darp).

In the traditional lexical decision experiment a fixation point is presented in the middle of the

screen and the letter string is presented to either the left or the right side of this fixation point. If the

letter string is presented to the left side of the fixation point it is a left visual field presentation (LVF). If

the letter string is presented to the right of the fixation point it is a right visual field presentation (RVF).

By presenting the letter string to only one of the visual fields, researchers are able to localize which

hemisphere is processing the letter string. The reason for this has to do with the visual and neuronal

connections of the brain. That being said, it should be noted that lateralized displays bias processing to

the contralateral hemisphere but cannot constrain processing to that hemisphere because the corpus

callosum relays information from one to the other hemisphere. Notwithstanding the relay, researchers

determine which hemisphere is better, worse, or the same at processing certain types of letter strings by

comparing processing by each hemisphere.

Despite the wide spread use of this type of lexical decision task the results may not accurately

generalize to the normal reading situation. The reason for this is that the words are presented to the left

or right of centre. Due to the fact that people read with a central fixation on the word, this type of

experiment has questionable ecological validity. In order to account for this issue, Rutherford and Lutz

(2004) developed a more ecologically valid version of the lexical decision task.

In this version of the lexical decision task (Rutherford & Lutz, 2004) the letter string is

presented to the center of the participants visual field. At the onset of the letter string a blinking

distractor is presented to the left, right, or neither side of the letter string. The purpose of this distractor

is to temporarily disengage the processing of the contralateral hemisphere leaving the unaffected

ispsilateral hemisphere to process the letter string (Cowan 1995, as cited by Rutherford & Lutz, 2004).
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In other words, if the distractor is presented to the left side of the letter string, this will temporarily

disengage the right hemisphere allowing the left hemisphere to process the letter string. The participant

is to respond if the letter string does or does not spell a word as occurs in the typical lexical decision

task. In order to respond, participants are instructed to press certain keys on a computer keyboard that

will correspond to if the letter string does or does not spell a word.

There are three important features to this novel version of the lexical decision task. First, it is

more ecologically valid as it allows the letter string to be presented centrally, rather than in the

participants periphery, therefore more closely mimicking how people read. Second, the no distractor

condition permits researchers to understand how the hemispheres interact when they are both allowed to

process the letter string at the same time. Third, as was the case with lateralized displays, the procedure

provides evidence of relative hemispheric competence (e.g., Rutherford, 2006; Rutherford & Lutz,

2004).

Within the field of laterality of reading, what is still not fully understood and needs further

investigation is whether the hemispheres differ in the ability for phonological (i.e., non-lexical) and

orthographic (i.e., lexical) processing. For example, past research conducted on neurologically impaired

individuals such as commissurotomy patients (e.g., Sidtis, Volpe, Wilson, Rayport, & Gazzaniga, 1981;

Zaidel & Peters, 1981) and neurologically intact individuals (e.g., Sasanuma, Itoh, Kobyashi, & Mori,

1980) have demonstrated that only the left hemisphere is capable of processing phonological

information, whereas only the right hemisphere is capable of orthographic processing. More recent

research conducted by Lavidor and Ellis (2003) further supports this view.

Lavidor and Ellis (2003) investigated the laterality of phonological and orthographic processing

using a priming procedure. Priming involves the presentation of two consecutive stimuli in which the

first stimulus, the prime, facilitates the processing of the succeeding target stimulus because the prime
 8

activates a lexical representational system in the brain (Forster, 1987, as cited by Lavidor and Ellis,

2003) that contains the same characteristics as the target. As has been empirically demonstrated, the

participant should be faster and more accurate to the primed target in comparison to the non-primed

target (Chiarello, 1985; Hutchins & Palmer, 2008; Lavidor & Ellis, 2001; Perfetti & Bell, 1991). In

their study, Lavidor and Ellis (2003) presented the prime letter string to the center of the participants

visual field, while the target was presented to either the left or the right visual field. The two letter

strings were manipulated by phonological or orthographic similarity with one another and the

participants were instructed to respond only to the central letter string. Phonologically similar letter

strings sound alike whereas orthographically similar letter strings look alike. The results revealed

increased speed and accuracy of lexical decision when a phonologically related lateralized target was

presented to the RVF, but not the LVF. Also revealed was an increase in speed and accuracy of lexical

decision when an orthographically related lateralized target was presented to the LVF, but not the RVF.

These results suggest that only the left hemisphere has phonological processing capabilities while only

the right hemisphere has orthographic processing capabilities.

Not all research, however, is in agreement with the findings that only the left hemisphere can

process phonology and only the right hemisphere can process orthography (e.g., Chiarello, Hasbrooke,

& Maxfield, 1999; Crossman & Polich, 1988). Chiarello et al. (1999) conducted a study that

investigated the effects of an unattended distractor on the pronunciation of a target word in both the left

and right visual fields. The unattended distractor and target words were phonologically and

orthographically manipulated to be similar or dissimilar to one another. The target and distractor words

were presented in a crossword fashion in which the participant was instructed before hand on which

axis was the target (i.e., vertical or horizontal) and that they were to verbally pronounce the target word.

The results showed that both the left and the right hemispheres are capable of phonological and

orthographic processing.
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A possible reason for these conflicting results for orthographic lateralization may involve the

control of extraneous variables such as orthographic neighborhood size. Orthographic neighborhood

size refers to how many new words can be created by manipulating one letter of a target word, where

high neighborhood size denotes more words. As shown in past research (Lavidor & Ellis, 2001),

neighborhood size can affect asymmetries in orthographic processing, with large neighborhood sizes

favoring the right hemisphere. In returning to the research presented above, Chiarello, et al., (1999) did

not control for neighborhood size. This lack of third variable control could have potentially biased

hemispheric asymmetry.

Due to these conflicting results, it is still not understood whether the hemispheres differ in

competence for processing phonological and orthographic information. Thus, the purpose of the present

study is to investigate the question and to further the literature within the field of laterality of reading. In

order to accomplish these two separate studies will be conducted using the more ecologically valid

lexical decision task in combination with a priming procedure. The first study will analyze the laterality

of phonological processing whereas the second study will analyze the laterality of orthographic

processing while controlling for neighborhood size.

Experiment I

The purpose of the first experiment is to test hemispheric asymmetry in phonological

processing. Three hypotheses are tested: First, primed letter strings will be faster and more accurate

than non-primed letter strings. Second, both hemispheres will show phonological priming. Third, the

left hemisphere will show greater priming than the right hemisphere.

Method
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Participants

A convenience sample of 65 students (20 Men and 45 Women) from the University of British

Columbia Okanagan campus participated. Six participants data were excluded from the analysis due

to violation of study requirements they were on medication. Thus, a total of 59 students (18 Men and

41 Women) participated. The age of participants ranged from 17 years and three months to 24 years

and four months (M = 18.83, SD = 1.49). Participation was restricted to students at the university who

had never participated in the study before, who were right handed (as deemed by a positive score on the

handedness questionnaire), who spoke English as their first language, who were not on medication with

the possible exception of hormones for birth control, and who had no reading disability. Participants

were able to sign up for the study through one of three ways; (1) through an online website known as

SONA, (2) drop in to the psychology laboratory and book a time slot or (3) email the researcher directly

to indicate interest in the study.

Participation in this study was completely voluntary, but incentives were provided in two ways.

First, participants enrolled in a psychology course were eligible to receive .5% course credit towards

their psychology class through participation in this study. Second, participants not enrolled in a

psychology course or those in a psychology course who declined credit were eligible to receive a $10

incentive for completion of the study.

Materials

Adult participants were given a battery of tests that included a demographic form, a

handedness questionnaire, a phonological processing test, and a computer task.

Demographic form.
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The demographic form (see Appendix A) consisted of a 5-item checklist that provided general

information about the participant. The researcher read each question to the participant and asked the

participant to verbally respond. Each response was recorded by the researcher on the demographic form

and retained for records. The purpose of this form was to determine if the participant had a known

reading disability, was on any medication with the possible exception of hormones for birth control, and

if English was their first language.

Handedness Questionnaire

The handedness questionnaire (see Appendix B) consisted of a 12-item checklist to

operationally determine if a participant was left handed, right handed, or ambidextrous. Each item

identified an activity and the participant reported (R) if he/she would use their right hand, (L) if he/she

would use their left hand or (E) if he/she would use either hand for each activity. Right hand responses

were scored as +1, left hand with -1, either hand with 0. The scores were then totaled. To be classified

as right handed the participant needed to have a score of +1 or greater. To be classified as left handed

the participant needed to have a score of -1 or less. To be classified as ambidextrous the participant

needed a score of 0.

Word Attack

The word attack form (see Appendix C) was a standardized phonological pronunciation task

consisting of a list of 30 nonsense words. These nonsense words, also known as pseudowords, were

letter strings that followed the rules of spelling but did not spell an actual word (e.g., kash). A correct

response was defined as pronouncing the proper grapheme phoneme conversion for the letter string.

Correct answers were denoted by a +1 whereas incorrect answers were denoted by a 0. The correct

responses were totaled out of a possible 30 correct. The score was compared to age or grade norms in
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order to determine a standardized measure of phonological ability. A cut-off percentile score of 50%

was necessary for participation in the study.

Computer Task

Inquisit 3 was used to program the stimuli to appear on an IBM compatible Pentium I

computer. Strings of 4-6 white letters in System Times New Roman size 14 font were presented to

center of monitor against a black background. There were a total of 196 stimuli, half were words and

half were pseudowords.

A distractor was presented at the onset of each letter string consisting of a 1 dg visual angle

white square. The distractor blinked on and off at 50 ms intervals for 300 ms. The distractor was

presented to either the left or right visual field 7 cm from the center screen as measured from the medial

position of the distractor. A left or right distractor condition occurred with an equal probability across

all trials.

Procedure

The demographic form, handedness questionnaire, word attack, and computer task were

completed in this order once the informed consent (see Appendix D) was signed. After the computer

task was completed, the participant was fully debriefed and given a copy of both the informed consent

as well as the debriefing form (see Appendix E).

During the computer task, participants were seated in a quiet and darkened testing room with

their chin positioned in a chin rest at exactly 57 cm from the center of the computer monitor. To begin

each trial the participant was instructed to press the spacebar. At the start of each trial a fixation cross

appeared in the center of the computer monitor for a duration of 500 ms after which a letter string

replaced the fixation cross. The letter string, which spelled either a word or a pseudoword, was
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accompanied by a blinking distractor to either the left or right side of the computer monitor. The

participant was instructed to answer if the letter string did or did not spell a word. Affirmative responses

were indicated by simultaneously pressing the f and j keys with their index finger of the left and right

hand, respectively. Negative responses were indicated by simultaneously pressing the d and k keys with

their middle finger of their left and right hand, respectively. A trial was finished after the participant

answered or after 2 s of no response, whichever came first. During this task accuracy and response

times were measured.

The first block was a practice block consisting of 32 trials. This block was followed by three

test blocks consisting of 64 randomized trials each. Out of the total 64 stimuli per test block, 32 trials

were words and 32 were pseudowords. One half of each string type was accompanied by a left

distractor and half by a right distractor. Within each string and distractor type, four trials were

phonologically primed and 12 were not primed. Phonological priming involves the presentation of two

consecutive similar sounding stimuli in which the first stimulus, the prime, facilitates the processing of

the succeeding target stimulus because the prime activates a lexical representational system in the brain

(Forster, 1987, as cited by Lavidor and Ellis, 2003) that contains the same characteristics (i.e., sound) as

target. Where primed strings sounded similar to one another, not primed strings sounded dissimilar.

Design

The present experiment used a 2 X 2 X 2 repeated measures ANOVA design. Thus, there were

three independent variables each consisting of two levels. The first independent variable, letter string,

contained word strings and pseudoword strings. The second independent variable, distractor location,

contained a left visual field distractor and a right visual field distractor. The third independent variable,

phonological priming, contained phonologically primed letter strings and phonologically not primed

letter strings. Both accuracy and reaction time were measured as dependent variables.
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Results

Separate repeated-measures analyses of string type, distractor location, and prime type were

conducted for reaction time and accuracy at an alpha of .05.

Reaction Time

The overall analyses revealed a significant main effect for string type [F (1, 58) = 41.13, p <

.001, p2 = 42%]. The means of string type found words (M = 718.272, SD = 14.703) to be significantly

faster than pseudowords (M = 793.520, SD = 18.557). A main effect of prime type [F (1, 58) = 63.67, p

< .001, p2 = 52%] was also found. The means of prime type revealed primed strings (M = 735.404, SD

= 15.667) were significantly faster than non-primed (M = 776.487, SD = 16.112) strings. These main

effects, however, were modified by a significant visual field X string type X prime type interaction [F

(1, 58) = 5.61, p < .05, p2 = 8%]. To elucidate the source of the interaction, separate analyses of each

string type were conducted.

Pseudowords

The results unveiled a visual field X prime type interaction [F (1, 58) = 5.97, p < .05, p2 = 9%].

Separate analyses of each visual field exposed a significant effect of prime type within left distractor

condition [F (1, 58) = 31.24, p < .001, p2 = 35%], but not the right distractor condition [F (1, 58) = .95,

p > .05, p2 = 2%]. The means of the left distractor condition were faster to primed (M = 763.98, SD =

161.17) than non-primed (M = 818.93, SD = 160.59) pseudowords, suggesting that the left hemisphere

does show priming. In contrast, the right hemisphere does not.

Words

A significant main effect of prime type [F (1, 58) = 52.84, p < .001, p2 = 48%] was found for

word strings. Responses were significantly faster to primed (M = 693.87, SD = 15.11) than non-primed
 15

words (M = 742.68, SD = 15.05) suggesting that both hemispheres show phonological priming of word

letter strings.

Accuracy

The overall analyses revealed a significant main effect for prime type [F (1, 58) = 56.06, p <

.001, p2 = 49%], with higher accuracy to primed (M = .947, SD = .006) than non-primed letter strings

(M = .908, SD = .006). These results suggest that both hemispheres showed priming and there was no

difference between words and pseudowords.

Discussion

The results from Experiment I supported all three hypotheses. Consistent with previous research

(e.g., Chiarello, 1985; Hutchins & Palmer, 2008; Lavidor & Ellis, 2001; Perfetti & Bell, 1991) and our

first hypothesis, responses were processed faster and more accurately to a letter string that followed a

similar sounding string (i.e., primed), than one that was not similar in sound (i.e., non-primed). The

enhancement was likely due to the prime activating a lexical representational system in the brain that

contains the same characteristics as the target (Forster, 1987, as cited by Lavidor & Ellis, 2003), which

speeds responses because there is no need to reactivate the lexical representational system and makes

them more accurate because there is less likelihood of the target activating a different, incorrect, system.

Also consistent with previous research (e.g., Chiarello, et al, 1999; Underwood, et al., 1983) and

our second hypothesis, both the left and right hemisphere showed phonological priming for words. This

finding is consistent with evidence that both the left and the right hemispheres contain lexical

processing strategies and suggests both hemispheres have simple phonological processing abilities.

Understanding basic human language processing, enables one to understand the suggestion that both

hemispheres have simple phonological processing abilities. Under normal reading conditions, letter

strings are typically familiar words. Due to this familiarity, readers process each letter string using
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orthographic (i.e., lexical) processing strategies that are available to both hemispheres. Since the letter

string is familiar to the reader, information such as the look (i.e., orthography), the sound (i.e.,

phonology), and the meaning (i.e., semantics) are stored in interconnected neural networks within the

brain. Even though the reader is using the orthographic processing strategy, there is a spread of

activation to the phonological and semantic neural networks. It is this spread in activation toward the

phonological neural network that makes the phonological processing of words simple. The words

phonology are already known, thus, the simultaneous activation of orthographic and phonological codes

allows a more simplistic top-down processing rather than the more complex, print-to-sound, bottom-up

processing required for unfamiliar words.

Consistent with our third hypothesis, the left hemisphere showed greater priming than the right,

but only for pseudowords. This finding is consistent with evidence suggesting that the left hemisphere

can invoke a non-lexical process that converts print-to-sound (e.g., Chiarello, et al, 1999; Iacoboni &

Zaidel, 1996; Rutherford, 2006) in order to match a letter string to entries in the mental lexicon. This

finding also suggests that only the left hemisphere is capable of complex phonological processing. As

stated above, readers typically invoke orthographic processing when reading familiar words. However,

when words are unfamiliar, this type of processing will be ineffective because the letter string

orthography is unknown. Instead, the print-to-sound, phonological conversion process is invoked in

order to determine the sound of the letter string and find a match, if there is one, to other entries in the

mental lexicon. It is this print-to-sound, bottom-up processing, that requires more complex phonological

processing abilities.

There are two possible explanations for the left hemisphere superiority of phonological

processing. First, the superiority may be the result of asymmetries in lexical and non-lexical processing

strategies, as suggested above. More specifically, past research has demonstrated that both hemispheres

have access to lexical processing which is invoked for the processing of familiar letter strings. Only the
 17

left hemisphere, however, is capable of the non-lexical, print-to-sound, processing required for

unfamiliar letter strings. Second, the left hemisphere superiority may be caused by the asymmetries in

sequential processing abilities. Prior research has demonstrated that the left hemisphere has faster and

more accurate sequential processing abilities than the right hemisphere (Efron, 1963; Rutherford, 2003).

Since phonological processing requires the quick and accurate ordering of sounds, superior sequential

processing abilities should lead to both a fast and accurate processing of stimuli requiring the

conversion of letters to sounds.

Experiment II
The purpose of the second experiment is to test hemispheric asymmetry in orthographic

processing. Three hypotheses are tested: First, primed letter strings will be faster and more accurate

than non-primed letter strings. Second, both hemispheres will show orthographic priming. Third, the

left hemisphere will show greater priming than the right hemisphere.

Method

Participants
A convenience sample of 68 students (21 Men and 47 Women) from the University of British

Columbia Okanagan campus participated. Nine participants data were excluded from the analysis due

to violation of study requirements they were on medication, were left handed, or could not properly

see the stimuli. Thus, the data from a total of 59 subjects were analyzed (19 Men and 40 Women). The

age of participants ranged from 18 years and three months to 36 years and five months (M = 19.056,

SD = 2.523). The restrictions in the present experiment were the same as the first, as were the sign up

procedures, and the incentives for participation.

Materials
 18

All materials were the same as in Experiment I, except for the stimuli. The word letter string

stimuli were four-to-five letters in length and were all obtained from a study conducted by Lavidor &

Ellis (2003). The stimuli in the present experiment consisted of orthographically primed and

orthographically not primed letter strings. Orthographic priming involves the presentation of two

consecutive similar looking stimuli in which the first stimulus, the prime, facilitates the processing of

the succeeding target stimulus. All orthographically primed words in the present study contain high

orthographic neighborhood size. Orthographic neighborhood refers to the number of words that can be

created by changing one letter of a target word. In the present study high orthographic neighborhood

size is defined as words in which 10 or more other words can be created by changing one letter of the

target word. For example, the letter string cover contains a high orthographic neighborhood size

because it has 13 orthographic neighbors, some of which include coven, covet, cower, and lover

(Lavidor & Ellis, 2001).

The first block was a practice block consisting of 32 trials. This block was followed by three

test blocks consisting of 64 randomized trials each. Out of the total 64 stimuli per test block, 32 trials

were words and 32 were pseudowords. Half of each string type was accompanied by a left distractor

and half by a right distractor. Within each string and distractor type four trials were orthographically

primed and 12 were orthographically not primed.

Procedure

All procedures were identical to the procedures used in Experiment I

Design

The present experiment used a 2 X 2 X 2 repeated measures ANOVA design. Thus, there were

three independent variables each consisting of two levels. The first independent variable, letter string,

contained word letter strings and pseudoword letter strings. The second independent variable, distractor
 19

location, contained a left visual field distractor and a right visual field distractor. The third independent

variable, orthographic priming, contained orthographically primed letter strings and orthographically

not primed letter strings. Both accuracy and reaction time were measured as dependent variables.

Results

As in Experiment I, separate repeated-measures analyses of string type, distractor location, and

prime type were conducted for reaction time and accuracy at an alpha of .05.

Reaction Time

The overall analyses revealed three significant main effects. First, a main effect for string type

[F (1, 58) = 54.21, p < .001, p2 = 48%] was found. Assessing the means of string type exposed words

(M = 694.525, SD = 16.446) to be significantly faster than pseudowords (M = 755.451, SD = 17.044).

Second, a significant main effect for prime type [F (1, 58) = 2.48, p < .001, p2 = 81%] was also

uncovered. The means of prime type revealed primed strings (M = 683.721, SD = 16.022) were

significantly faster than non-primed strings (M = 766.255, SD = 16.845). However, these main effects

were modified by a significant visual field X prime type interaction [F (1, 58) = 28.46, p < .001, p2 =

33%] and a significant string type X prime type interaction [F (1, 58) = 4.19, p < .05, p2 = 7%]. To

expose the source of these interactions, separate analyses were conducted for each string type and prime

type.

Pseudowords

A significant visual field X prime type interaction [F (1, 58) = 10.99, p < .01, p2 = 16%] was

found for pseudowords. Separate analyses of each visual field revealed a significant effect of prime type

within the left distractor condition [F (1, 58) = 1.100, p < .001, p2 = 66%]. The means of the left
 20

distractor condition were faster to primed (M = 702.198, SD = 17.42) than non-primed (M = 811.275,

SD = 19.672) pseudowords. A significant effect of prime type within the right distractor condition

[F (1, 58) = 49.71, p < .001, p2 = 46%] was also revealed. The means of the right distractor condition

were faster to primed (M = 659.914, SD = 18.559) than non-primed (M = 716.772, SD = 15.604)

pseudowords. These results suggest that both hemispheres show priming for pseudowords .

Separate analyses of each prime type revealed significantly faster processing of non-primed

pseudowords in the right (M = 791.012, SD = 139.065) compared to the left hemisphere (M = 811.275,

SD = 1851.10), with [t(58) = 2.60, p < .05, 2 = 10.30%]. This suggests that the right hemisphere relies

on a speedier strategy than used by the left when the priming context is removed.

Words

A significant visual field X prime interaction [F (1, 58) = 7.613, p > .01, p2 = 12%] was found

for words. Separate analyses of each visual field revealed a significant effect of prime type within the

left distractor condition [F (1, 58) = 1.362, p < .001, p2 = 70%]. The means of the left distractor

condition were faster to primed (M = 655.453, SD = 16.740) than non-primed (M = 745.962, SD =

17.904) words. A significant effect of prime type within the right distractor condition [F (1, 58) = 49.71,

p < .001, p2 = 46%] was also uncovered. The means of the right distractor condition were faster to

primed (M = 659.914, SD = 18.559) than non-primed (M = 716.772, SD = 15.604) words. These results

suggest that both hemispheres show priming for words.

Separate analyses of each prime type revealed significantly faster processing of non-primed

words in the right hemisphere (M = 716.772, SD = 119.858) than the left hemisphere (M = 745.962, SD

= 137.526), with [t(58) = 3.86, p < .001, 2 = 2.04%]. This suggests that the right hemisphere relies on a

speedier strategy than used by the left when the priming context is removed.
 21

Accuracy

The overall analysis revealed two significant main effects. First, there was a significant main

effect of visual field [F (1, 58) = 61.405, p < .001, p2 = 51%] with the means revealing the right visual

field (M = .954, SD = .004) was more accurate than the left visual field (M = .923, SD = .005). Second,

a significant main effect for prime type [F (1, 58) = 1.727, p < .001, p2 = 75%] was also found.

According to the means, primed strings (M = .946, SD = .004) were significantly more accurate than

non-primed strings (M = .902, SD = .005). However, these main effects were modified by a significant

visual field X prime interaction [F (1, 58) = 16.917, p < .001, p2 = 23%], a significant string type X

prime type interaction [F (1, 58) = 5.538, p < .05, p2 = .9%] and a significant visual field X string type

X prime type interaction [F (1, 58) = 14.794, p < .001, p2 = 20%]. To uncover the source of these

interactions, separate analyses were conducted for each string type and each prime type.

Pseudowords

Within the pseudoword letter strings there was a significant main effect of visual field [F (1,

58) = 30.279, p < .001, p2 = 34%]. The means revealed pseudowords were more accurate in the right

distractor condition (M = .954, SD = .005) than the left distractor condition (M = .922, SD = .007). Also

within the pseudoword condition there was a significant main effect of prime type [F (1, 58) = 93.593,

p < .001, p2 = 59%]. The means revealed both hemispheres were more accurate to primed (M = .970,

SD = .005) than non-primed (M = .907, SD = .008) pseudowords. These results suggest that

pseudowords are more accurately processed in the right than the left hemisphere and that both

hemispheres show priming for pseudowords.

Words

The results revealed a significant visual field X prime interaction [F (1, 58) = 28.838, p < .001,

p2 = 33%]. Separate analyses of each visual field revealed a significant effect of prime type within the
 22

left distractor condition [F (1, 58) = 1.278, p < .001, p2 = 69%]. The means of the left distractor

condition were more accurate to primed (M = .983, SD = .006) than non-primed (M = .865, SD = .009)

words. A significant effect of prime type within the right distractor condition [F (1, 58) = 32.781,

p < .001, p2 = 36%] was also revealed. The means of the right distractor condition were more accurate

to primed (M = .982, SD = .007) than non-primed (M = .928, SD = .006) words. These results suggest

that both hemispheres showed priming for words.

Separate analysis of prime types revealed that the right hemisphere (M = .928, SD = .049) was

more accurate than the left (M = .865, SD = .065) in processing non-primed words [t(58) = -7.475, p <

.001, 2 = 49.06%], but not primed words. This finding suggests that the strategy used by the right

hemisphere is different than the left, in a context where there is no priming. These results imply that not

only is non-lexical processing a slower strategy, but a less accurate one as well.

Discussion
The results from Experiment II supported all three hypotheses. Consistent with Experiment I,

past research (Chiarello, 1985; Hutchins & Palmer, 2008; Lavidor & Ellis, 2001; Perfetti & Bell, 1991)

and our first hypothesis, letter strings which were similar in appearance (i.e., primed) were processed

faster and more accurately than letter strings not similar in appearance (i.e., non-primed). As with

Experiment I, this enhancement in processing is likely due to the prime activating a lexical

representational system in the brain which contains similar characteristics to the target string (Forster,

1987, as cited by Lavidor & Ellis, 2003). Thus, the target will be processed faster because it no longer

needs to reactivate the representational system and will be more accurate because there is less

likelihood that the target string will activate a different, incorrect, system.

The current results are also in line with past research (Chiarello, et al., 1999) and our second

hypothesis, that both hemispheres would show orthographic priming. This was supported by the

findings that both hemispheres showed priming for words and pseudowords. These results suggest that
 23

both hemispheres have access to orthographic processing abilities and are consistent with evidence

(e.g., Iacoboni & Zaidel, 1996; Rutherford, 2006), as well as Experiment I, that both hemispheres

contain lexical processing strategies that are required for orthographic processing. Lexical processing

involves a whole word matching strategy to a mental lexicon. More specifically, it involves looking at

the overall shape and size of a letter string and matching this to a string with the same shape and size

within the mental lexicon. This is precisely the strategy that is needed for orthographic processing.

Thus, the finding that both hemispheres are capable of orthographic processing further supports past

research on the laterality of lexical processing (e.g., Iacoboni & Zaidel, 1996; Rutherford, 2006).

In accordance with previous research (e.g., Chiarello, 1985; Lavidor & Ellis, 2001, 2003) as

well as our third hypothesis, the right hemisphere revealed greater orthographic priming than the left

hemisphere. This was demonstrated by three findings. First, non-primed pseudowords were processed

quicker in the right compared to the left hemisphere. Second, non-primed words were processed faster

in the right compared to the left hemisphere. Third, non-primed words were processed more accurately

in the right compared to the left hemisphere. These results appear counterintuitive at first. However, it is

believed that participants noticed the visual similarity between primed strings and consequently began

focusing on the visual appearance of all letter strings regardless of priming. This bias would compel the

participant to rely more heavily on orthographic processing strategies rather than other language

strategies such as phonological or semantic processing. Thus, with the results demonstrating quicker

and more accurate processing of non-primed strings in the right hemisphere the implication is that the

right hemisphere is superior at orthographic processing.

The three findings presented above also demonstrate fundamental differences between lexical

and non-lexical processing strategies. The first two findings that non-primed pseudowords and words

were processed faster in the right hemisphere compared to the left hemisphere suggests that lexical

processing is faster than non-lexical processing. As discussed above, it is believed that participants were
 24

biased to focus on the visual aspects of the letter strings. This bias would imply that all stimuli

presented to the right hemisphere, primed or non-primed, words or pseudowords, would be processed

orthographically whereas the left hemisphere would maintain normal processing abilities. Thus, the

finding that the right hemisphere, using lexical strategies, was faster than the left hemisphere, using

non-lexical strategies, to process both non-primed pseudowords and words, suggest that non-lexical

processing is slower than lexical processing. The third finding, that non-primed words are more

accurate in the right compared to the left hemisphere, implies that not only is non-lexical processing a

slower strategy, but a less accurate one as well. Again, taking bias into account, the right hemisphere,

which uses lexical processing, performed more accurately than the left hemisphere, which can use both

lexical and non-lexical processing. It appears that non-lexical processing hinders rather than facilitates

accurate processing. This finding makes both theoretical and empirical sense. Non-lexical processing,

as discussed above, requires a much more complex process of sounding out each letter of a word and

then combining these sounds in order to sound out the word. Such a process requires multiple steps,

making it slower, and increasing the likelihood of error.

The finding that words and pseudowords showed significant priming in both hemispheres casts

doubt on the past argument that hemispheric asymmetries in orthographic processing are due to

neighborhood size. There are two reasons for this. First, orthographic neighborhood size refers to the

number of new words that can be created by manipulating one letter of the original word. According to

this definition, it is not entirely certain if pseudowords can have a neighborhood size. While a single

letter of a pseudoword can be manipulated to form another pseudoword they are not actual words and

would not have a lexical representation within the mental lexicon. Consequently, orthographic priming

should not have been seen in pseudoword strings. Second, high orthographic neighborhood is believed

to be processed only by the right hemisphere. Thus, the finding that high neighborhood stimuli revealed

priming in both hemispheres suggests neighborhood size may not produce hemispheric asymmetries.
 25

These reasons alone are not enough to disprove the orthographic neighborhood argument; however, past

research has also found conflicting evidence for this argument. More specifically, Forster and Davis

(1991, as cited by Lavidor & Ellis, 2001) found that words with few or no orthographic neighbors,

produced facilitation effects if the two letter strings were only one letter different from one another.

This finding, as well as our own, suggests a better explanation for asymmetries in orthographic

processing is orthographic density (Lavidor & Ellis, 2001). Orthographic density refers to the number of

letters a string shares with another letter string (e.g., targ vs. harg). The primed stimuli in the present

study contained high orthographic density to one another, which would explain why priming was found

for pseudowords.

A possible explanation for right hemisphere superiority may involve asymmetries in spatial

processing. Orthographic processing requires the ability to process the spatial aspects of a word and to

match these same spatial aspects to the word stored in the mental lexicon. As past research has

demonstrated, the right hemisphere specializes at this type of processing (Witelson, 1976). Thus, since

the orthographic process relies on spatial processing and the right hemisphere has superior abilities in

this process, it is logical that the right hemisphere is better at this task than the left hemisphere.

General Discussion
Two experiments were undertaken to clarify conflicting results on the laterality of phonological

and orthographic processing. The results of Experiment I suggested phonologically primed letter strings

are processed more quickly and accurately than phonologically non-primed strings. More importantly,

the results revealed that while both hemispheres have access to simple phonological processing abilities,

only the left hemisphere is capable of complex phonological processing. Besides clarifying conflicting

results, these findings also lend support to what can be named the right hemisphere argument of

phonological dyslexia. Phonological dyslexia is a reading disorder in which individuals have trouble

converting letters-to-sound. One argument that has been proposed to explain phonological dyslexia is
 26

that they rely on their inferior right hemisphere to process phonological information. The results from

the present experiment support this argument in a number of ways. First, while individuals with

phonological dyslexia have trouble converting letters-to-sound, they are not completely lacking this

ability. This may be explained by the fact that both hemispheres have access to simple phonological

processing. Second, the results from Experiment I demonstrated that only the left, not the right

hemisphere, contains complex phonological processing abilities. This finding, lends further support to

the idea that individuals with phonological dyslexia are relying on their inferior right hemisphere to

process phonological information. Potentially, this information could be used in a treatment program for

phonological dyslexia. Programs could be tailored to reverse, if possible, the hemispheric asymmetry to

favor the phonologically superior left hemisphere.

The results of Experiment II showed that orthographically primed strings were processed faster

and more accurately than orthographically non-primed strings. As well, they revealed that both the left

and right hemisphere have orthographic processing abilities, through the right hemisphere has superior

orthographic processing. An important outcome in Experiment II was the finding that asymmetries in

orthographic processing may not be the result of orthographic neighborhood size. While orthographic

neighborhood size may play a role in orthographic processing, the current results suggest orthographic

density has a greater impact. Future studies on the laterality of reading should test more thoroughly the

orthographic neighborhood and orthographic density hypothesis to determine more accurately their

hemispheric influences.

When these experiments are taken together they advocate for a relative model of language

processing rather than an absolute model. As well, both of these studies inform us about hemispheric

specializations beyond that of language processing. They provide support for the laterality of sequential

and spatial processing. More specifically, these results support that the left hemisphere is specialized for

sequential processing, demonstrated by superior phonological processing in the left hemisphere, while
 27

the right hemisphere is specialized for spatial processing, demonstrated by superior orthographic

processing in the right hemisphere.

 28

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 29

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 31

Appendix A

The Demographic Form

 32

Demographic Form

Experiment Name:

Participant #

Male/Female

Diagnosed reading disability?

Medication?

English first language?

Birth Date:

Word Attack: Raw Score

Percentile Rank:

Handedness score
 33

Appendix B

The Annett Handedness Questionnaire

 34

Handedness Questionnaire (Annett, 1970)

Which hand do you habitually use for the following tasks? Print left (L), right (R), or either (E) beside each
question:

1. To write a letter legibly

2. To throw a ball to hit a target

3. To hold a racket in tennis, squash, or badminton

4. To hold a match whilst striking it

5. To cut with scissors

6. To guide a thread through the eye of a needle (or guide needle on to thread)

7. At the top of a broom while sweeping

8. At the top of a shovel when moving sand

9. To deal playing cards

10. To hammer a nail into wood

11. To hold a toothbrush while cleaning your teeth

12. To unscrew the lid of a jar

 35

Appendix C

Word Attack Form

36
 37

Appendix D

Informed Consent
 38

Informed Consent
Brain Interhemispheric Communication And Reading
Principal Investigator: Dr. Barbara Rutherford
Psychology Department
3333 University Way, V1V 1V7
(250) 807-8734
[email protected]
Sponsor: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Introduction:
The University of British Columbia-Okanagan subscribes to the ethical conduct of research and to
the protection at all times of the interests, comfort, and safety of the study of subjects. The information
provided in this form is being given to you for your own protection and full understanding of the procedures,
risks and benefits associated with this research.
The consent form is only part of the process of informed consent. It should give you a basic idea of
what the research is about and what your participation will involve. If you would like more details, feel free
to ask the researcher presenting this form at any time. Please take the time to read this carefully and to
understand any accompanying information.
Purpose Of The Study:
This study seeks to better understand how the hemispheres of the brain interact when people read.
Study Procedures:
You will be asked to engage in 3 tasks.
(1) Handedness questionnaire: This asks which hand you habitually use to perform different tasks (e.g.
writing, throwing a ball).
(2) Reading Aloud: You will be asked to read aloud a short list of fake words (e.g. blurp).
(3) Computer task. You will be seated in front of a computer screen with your chin on a chinrest. A letter
string will appear on the monitor. Your job is to decide whether or not the letters spell a word. You will
press one or other of a pair of computer keys to indicate the decision. On some of the trials, a distractor
located to one or other side of the letter string will blink on and off for a short period of time.
Potential Risks And Benefits:
This project has been reviewed and granted a certificate of approval by the UBCO Research Ethics
Board.
This research is important because it will increase our understanding of how the hemispheres of the
brain interact when people read. In turn, the findings will be useful to the development of programs to better
help those who struggle with reading
 39

You understand that any risk from participation in this research is minimal because the tasks are those
normally associated with everyday living (e.g. filling out a form, speaking aloud, and sitting in front of a
computer screen and pressing computer keys).

Confidentiality:
You understand that all data collected from you will be coded by a number and not your name;
therefore, your identity will be kept confidential. The only people who will have access to the data are the
principal investigator and designated research assistant(s). The data will be stored in a locked file cabinet and
in a password-protected file on a computer in the psychology laboratory complex. All data will be destroyed
7 years after the findings have been published.

Remuneration/Compensation:
Introductory Psychology students at UBCO will receive a 1% course bonus credit/hour of research
participation. UBCO students who are either ineligible for bonus credits or do not wish to receive bonus
credits may receive $10/hour research participation.

Contact For Information About The Study:

If you have any questions about the project, you may address them to Dr. Barbara Rutherford, at
telephone number (250) 807-8734.
If you have any concerns about your treatment or rights as a research subject, you may contact the
Research Subject information Line in the UBC Office of Research Services at 604.822.8598.
The results of the study will be presented at national/international conferences and published in a
peer-reviewed journal in psychology. For details on the publication, contact Dr. Barbara Rutherford at
telephone number (250) 807-8734 about 2 years following your participation. For other access to the
findings, watch for posters on campus that advertise the time and place of a verbal presentation of the results.

Consent:
Your participation in the study is entirely voluntary and you may refuse to participate at any time
during the testing session without consequence. Prior to leaving the testing session, you may instruct the
researcher to destroy your data and watch while the computer file is deleted and the paper documents are
shredded.
Your signature on this form indicates that you understand the information provided regarding this
research project including all procedures and the personal risks involved. Your participation in this project is
in no way related to your status as a student. You understand that your identity and any identifying
information will be kept confidential.
Your signature below indicates that you consent to participate in this study. You will receive a copy
of this consent form for your own records.
 40

Your name (Please print): _________________________________________________

Your signature: _____________________________ _________ Date: _______________

Investigator and/or Delegates signature: ___________________ Date: ______________

 41

Appendix E

Debriefing Form
 42

Description for Debriefing

There were 3 independent variables that will provide us with insight into how the hemispheres of the
brain read.
1. The first is the type of letter string that you saw in the centre of the monitor. There were 3 different
types of them:
A. Word the words were all ones that had a high meaningfulness rating, so were likely quite familiar to
you.
B. Pseudoword these letter strings meet the rules of spelling for English, but are not a word. Needless to
say, these letter strings would not be familiar to you.
2. The second independent variable is the location of the distractor. There were 2 types of locations:
A. Left distractor a blinking distractor to the left captures the attention of the right hemisphere, leaving
the left hemisphere to process the centre string.
B. Right distractor a blinking distractor to the right captures the attention of the left hemisphere, leaving
the right hemisphere to process the centre letter string.
3. The third independent variable is if the priming of a letter string. Priming involves the presentation of
two consecutive stimuli in which responses to the second stimulus should be faster and more accurate
than responses to the first stimulus as long as the two stimuli share similar characteristics.
There were two dependent variables in the study: the time it took you to respond, and the accuracy of
your response.
Goal of the study
By recording the time and accuracy of your responses to the different distractor conditions, we can learn
if one hemisphere is better than the other or whether both hemispheres are better or worse than one
when processing different types of letter strings. We can also learn whether practice changes how your
hemispheres process letter strings and distractors. This information should prove helpful in designing
interventions to help people with reading problems.