Using spatial frequency adaptation to study word recognition

The study of spatial frequency is being used increasingly often to investigate processes underlying visual word recognition. However, research in this area has adopted techniques that require the physical deformation of word targets used in experiments (e.g., filtered images of words, words embedded in visual noise), and this approach may limit the inferences that can be made about the role of spatial frequencies in normal word recognition. Spatial frequency adaptation is described in this article as an additional technique for studying the role of spatial frequency information in word recognition. The advantage of this technique is that it alters participants' sensitivity to particular spatial frequencies and so allows the study of spatial frequency involvement in word recognition using normal images of word stimuli. The application of the adaptation technique to studies of word recognition is explained in detail and its potential is then demonstrated by an example word recognition experiment in which spatial frequency adaptation was used.