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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
04:30
An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
Published on: October 25, 2019
Age-related differences in processing unconventional text formats.
Natasha Alonso-Bernal1, Jorge González Alonso2,3, Pablo Gómez4
1Centro de Investigación Nebrija en Cognición, Universidad Nebrija, 28043, Madrid, Spain.
Scientific Reports
|July 3, 2026
Summary
Reading efficiency is affected by typographic formats. Extreme distortions like LEET slow reading and impact accuracy more with age, highlighting limits in reading adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Aging Research
Background:
- Typographic formats impact reading efficiency.
- Limited understanding of lifespan effects on reading distorted text in digital environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine how conventional (lowercase, uppercase) and unconventional (mixed-case, LEET) formats affect reading times and meaning integration.
- Investigate age-related differences in reading efficiency across formats.
Main Methods:
- Three hundred and three adults (18-84 years) read five-word phrases in four formats.
- Recorded reading times and memory accuracy for each format and participant age group.
Main Results:
- A graded cost pattern was observed: conventional formats were fastest, mixed-case had moderate costs, and LEET caused significant slowdown and reduced accuracy.
- Reading slowed with age across all formats.
- A pronounced age-related slowdown was noted for the LEET format, indicating a significant interaction between age and format.
Conclusions:
- Extreme orthographic distortions (e.g., LEET) increase perceptual and pre-lexical processing demands.
- Reading adaptation to distorted text shows age-related limitations, particularly with severe distortions.
- Findings have implications for digital text design considering diverse user ages and cognitive abilities.
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