The field-by-length effect in word processing: a failure to confirm

It has been shown that the left hemisphere superiority for processing words applies only to long words by Young and Ellis (1985). These authors defined the length as the number of letters. Bruyer and Janlin (1989) compiled supporting evidence by contrasting the number of letters and the physical size of the stimuli: Short words were made as long as "long" words by the use of blank spaces between the letters. In the present study, another control was used: The physical size of the stimuli was manipulated by means of the viewing distance (nearer short words were as long as the long words). Thirty-six subjects were submitted to 720 trials in which two words appeared for 150 ms, one in each visual hemifield. The subject reported the two words in a defined order. The results did not clearly support the previous studies.