The importance of visual angle in word recognition: A “shrinking screen” modification for visual displays

The visual angle subtended by alphabetic stimuli seems to be given little regard in a large proportion of reading research. Existing empirical evidence suggests that this disregard may be unwise. We describe a modification to video monitors and oscilloscopes that allows the screen size of stimuli to be varied and permits words to be displayed at appropriate visual angles with accuracy and comparative ease. Other advantages of these modifications are also discussed.

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