Letter search through words and nonwords: The effect of fixed, absent, or mutilated targets

The present study attempted to eliminate the word superiority effect found in letter search by holding the target letter fixed across trials. The expectation was that the target would thereby become so familiar and salient that the subject would "see" only that letter during search. Even with the target-letter held fixed (Experiment I), however, search was still faster through words than through nonwords, indicating that nontarget letters had been "seen" as well. Search also remained faster through words than through nonwords when the number of exposures to the target was further increased by having the subject search for the absence rather than the presence of the target letter (Experiment III). In line with the notion of "proofreader's errors," however, search became relatively more accurate on nonwords than on words when it required detection of the "mutilation" produced by substituting an F for an E, e.g., BASKFT, BAKFRY (Experiment IV).