The impact of graphomotor demands on letter-like shapes recognition: A comparison between hampered and normal...

Recent research suggests that graphic motor programs acquired through writing are part of letter representations and contribute to their recognition. Indeed, learning new letter-like shapes through handwriting gave rise to better recognition than learning through methods suppressing the graphomotor activity (e.g., typing or viewing). The present study aimed at further assessing the role of the graphic motor programs in letter-like shape recognition by disturbing the graphomotor activity during learning. We compared recognition performance following normal handwriting to recognition performance following hampered handwriting. Adult participants learned sets of symbols by copying them either with a standard pen or with a hampering writing tool. Recognition tests were administered immediately after the learning phase and again one week later. The results revealed lower recognition accuracy following hampered handwriting than following normal handwriting suggesting a contribution of graphomotor skills in the construction of letter representation.