Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Why is lower case better? Some data from a search task.

R J Phillips1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University College London, and Perception Laboratory, Royal College of Art, UK.

Applied Ergonomics
|December 1, 1979
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Timing of the martian dynamo: New constraints for a core field 4.5 and 3.7 Ga ago.

Science advances·2020
Same author

Vagus nerve stimulation promotes gastric emptying by increasing pyloric opening measured with magnetic resonance imaging.

Neurogastroenterology and motility·2018
Same author

Orogen-scale uplift in the central Italian Apennines drives episodic behaviour of earthquake faults.

Scientific reports·2017
Same author

Alpha-synuclein expression patterns in the colonic submucosal plexus of the aging Fischer 344 rat: implications for biopsies in aging and neurodegenerative disorders?

Neurogastroenterology and motility·2013
Same author

Vagal sensory innervation of the gastric sling muscle and antral wall: implications for gastro-esophageal reflux disease?

Neurogastroenterology and motility·2012
Same author

Vagal intramuscular array afferents form complexes with interstitial cells of Cajal in gastrointestinal smooth muscle: analogues of muscle spindle organs?

Neuroscience·2011
Same journal

Authority gradients in rail: A cross-jurisdictional systematic review and meta-synthesis.

Applied ergonomics·2026
Same journal

The distracting role of stress: Impaired executive attention and delayed fatigue perception.

Applied ergonomics·2026
Same journal

Analysis of work system components in interprofessional communication to determine shock etiology.

Applied ergonomics·2026
Same journal

Getting SSPOT to run: Development of a novel direct observational tool for usage in clinical settings.

Applied ergonomics·2026
Same journal

Investigating the impact of sopite syndrome on physiological responses during an immersive Augmented Reality (AR) game in a moving vehicle.

Applied ergonomics·2026
Same journal

The effect of aircraft cockpit rudder pedal shape on lower limb muscle activation, plantar pressure, and comfort.

Applied ergonomics·2026
See all related articles

Capital letters improve map name legibility. Research shows initial capital emphasis aids faster name recognition, challenging the word shape theory for reading tasks.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Typography

Background:

  • Legibility of text is influenced by letter case.
  • Lowercase words are often considered more legible due to distinct shapes.
  • Emphasis on initial capitals is also a factor in text processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of letter case on the legibility of names in a map-based search task.
  • To compare the effectiveness of lowercase versus initial capital emphasis for name recognition.

Main Methods:

  • Participants searched for names presented in different case formats on a map-like display.
  • Reaction times for locating names were recorded and analyzed.
  • Comparison between fully lowercase names and names with an initial capital.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Names set in lowercase (e.g., 'southampton') took significantly longer to find than those with an initial capital (e.g., 'Southampton').
  • Emphasis on the initial capital letter significantly improved search performance.

Conclusions:

  • For map-based name search tasks, the emphasis on the initial capital letter is more critical for legibility than overall word shape.
  • The findings question the universal applicability of the word shape hypothesis in explaining legibility differences across various reading contexts.