THE RELATIONSHIP OF VISUAL SYNTHESIS T0 LIPREADING PERFORMANCE Thes‘ss for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNlVERSfiY DALE W. KlTCHEN 1968 THEb'hi .1... le’irid “ Michigan State : ‘ University I 1 _.___ .2...“ . -_.. .. ”L; i "' v— w—v This is to certify that the thesis entitled The Relationship of Visual Synthesis to Lipreading Performance presented by Dale W. Kitchen has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degree in Audiology & Speech Sciences QQZU f» “)6r profesflr Date January 2, 1969 0-169 ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP OF VISUAL SYNTHESIS TO LIPREADING PERFORMANCE By Dale W. Kitchen The major purposes of this study were to design a: test of visual synthetic ability and to assess the re- lationship of this instrument to lipreading ability. Thirty-two normal hearing college students, with audiologically undramatic medical histories and normal 20/20 vision, served as subjects in this research. All subjects had normal intelligence. All subjects participated in a test of visual synthesis which assessed ten facets of visual perception thought to be related to the ability to synthesize :stimulus materials. Following this, subjects participated 5J1 a lipreading film which assessed the ability to lipread sentences, words, and stories. The data were subjected to statistical analyses .in order to assess the relationships among the ten syn- -thesis variables, the four lipreading variables, and among 'the ten synthesis variables and the four lipreading vari- ables. All possible combinations of the variables were Dale W. Kitchen correlated and the data were presented in a correlation matrix. The results of the investigation showed that two of the synthesis subtests (Dotted Outlines and Scattered Letters) and the Total Synthesis score were correlated significantly with the ability to lipread words, stories, and with the Total lipreading score. Dotted Outlines and Scattered Letters were thought to be closure-type tasks which involved arranging disparate elements to form a meaningful "whole." These same subtests were also thought to require speed of visual perception. None of the syn- thesis variables correlated significantly with the ability to lipread sentences. It was determined that either visual synthesis did not Operate in the ability to lip- read sentences or else the subtests in this study did not tap the dimension of synthesis necessary to the successful lipreading of sentences. The Relationship of Visual Synthesis to Lipreading Performance By 3 x‘ 61 Dale W? Kitchen A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences 1968 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my thanks to the Chairman of my Committee, Dr. Herbert J. Oyer, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, for his cooPeration and guidance in this endeavor; and to Dr. Leo V. Deal, Assistant Professor of Audiology and Speech Sciences, and to Dr. Norman Kagan, Professor of Counseling and Personnel, and to Dr. Bernice Borgman, Professor of Home Management and Child Deve10pment, for serving as members of my Committee. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the following for their faithful assistance in carrying out' this study: Mrs. Patricia Radcliffe; M.A., Instructor, Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, and Mr. Donald Aylesworth, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, and to Mr. Donald Riggs, Technician in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES O O O O I I O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . .>. . . . . . . . . . Purpose of the Study . .-. . . . . . . . . Importance of the Study . . . . . . . . . Definition of Terms . . .~. . . . . . . . Visual Synthetic Ability . . . . . . . . Visual Synthetic Ability . . . . . . . . Talker . . . . .1. . . . . . . . . . . . Lipreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lipreading . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . Lipreading Ability . . . . . . . . . . . Organization of the Report . . . . . . . . II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . Tachistosc0pic Studies . . . .-. . . Part I: Completed and Incompleted Tasks. Part II: Determination of Recognition Thresholds . . . . .~. . . . . . . . . Closure, Incomplete Stimuli, Visual Perception Studies . . . . . . . . . . Perception and Aural Rehabilitation Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Figure-Ground Test . .,. .w. . . . . The Perseveration Test . . . . . . . . . The Pattern Reproduction Test . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III SUBJECTS, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, AND PROCEDURES 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Subjects 0 o o o ' o o o o o o o o o o o o 0 Equipment 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 0 Materials 0 O O O O O O O 0 O I O O I O 0 iii Page vi vii 24 24 41 41 41 42 42 42 44 44 55 56 83 88 9O 91 93 105 109 109 111 112 Chapter Page Stimulus Materials . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Subtest I: Geometric Forms Recognition Speed . . . . . . . . . 114 Subtest II: Geometric Form Patterns Speed of Organizing Patterns . . . . 116 Subtest III: Common Words, Recognition Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Subtest IV: Scattered Letters, Speed of Organizing Words . . . . . . . 120 Subtest V: Scattered Words, Speed of of Organizing Sentences . . . . . 123 Subtest VI: Deleted Sentences, Provid- ing Missing Cues in a Verbal Context . . . . . . . . 125 Subtest VII: Dotted Outlines, Speed of Perceiving Letters and Digits from Disparate Elements . . . . . . . . . 128 Subtest VIII: Object Recognition Providing Missing Cues in a Non- Verbal Context . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Subtest IX: Picture Arrangement, Deriving the Whole on the Basis of Partial Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Pilot Study . .-. . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Experimental Procedures ... . . . . . . 134 Subtest I: Geometric Forms, Recognition Speed . . . . . . . . . 136 Subtest II: Geometric Form Patterns Speed of Organizing Patterns . . . . 137 Subtest III: Common Words, Recognition Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Subtest IV: Scattered Letters, Speed of Organizing Words . . . . . . . . 138 Subtest V: Scattered Words, Speed of Organizing Sentences . . . . . . . . 139 Subtest VI: Deleted Sentences, Provid— ing Missing Cues in a Verbal Context . . . . . 139 Subtest VII: Dotted Outlines, Speed of Perceiving Letters and Digits from Disparate Elements . . . . . . 140 Subtest VIII: Object Recognition Providing Missing Cues in a Non- Verbal Context . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Subtest IX: Picture Arrangement, Deriving the Whole on the Basis of Partial Cues . . . . . . . . . . 141 iv Chapter IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . ReSUlts O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smary O O O O O O O O O O O I I O O O O V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS. . smary O O O O O O O O O O O O I O 0 0 0 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommendations for Further Research . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O O 0 Appendix I Audiological Interview Form Michigan State University . . . . Appendix II Subject Response Forms, Test of ..Visual Synthesis . . . . . . . . . Appendix III Correct Responses Lipreading Test . Appendix IV Sum, Mean, and Sum of Squares for the General Form of the Regression of Y on X . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 148 148 156 170 177 177 179 180 183 189 190 199 202 Table LIST OF TABLES Correlation Matrix Computed Between the Ten Variables of the Test of Visual Synthesis, Between the Four Variables of the Lipreading Test, and Between the Ten Variables of the Test of Visual Synthesis and the Four Variables of the Lipreading Test . .*. . . . . . . . . .w. Intercorrelations, Significance Level, and Percentage of EXplained Variance r2 for Ten Synthesis Variables . . . . . . . . . Intercorrelations, Significance Level, and Percentage of EXplained Variance for Four Lipreading Variables . . . . . . . . . . Intercorrelations, Significance Level, and Percentage of Explained Variance r for Ten Variables of Visual Synthesis and Four Variables of Lipreading . . . . . . vi Page 150 151 153 155 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Dotted Outlines and Utley Words . . . . 2 Dotted Outlines and Utley Stories . . . 3 Dotted Outlines and Total Utley Scores 4 Scattered Letters and Utley Words . . . 5 Scattered Letters and Utley Stories . . 6 Total Synthesis Score and Utley Words . 7 Total Synthesis Score and Utley Stories vii Page 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 CHAPTER I STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Introduction With increased financial eXpenditure and personnel energy devoted to the habilitation and rehabilitation of hard—of—hearing adults, there has come a pressing need for increased research effort in the area of aural rehab- ilitation. According to Garrett and Levine,1 As in diagnosis and treatment, it is an area that involves many disciplines working together toward the solution of problems for which we have not as yet got the answers. In regard to the hard of hearing, the whole problem of denial and rejection of compen- ‘satory rehabilitative measures and devices requires thorough interdisciplinary investigation. So too do problems of psychogenic overlays and other such involve- ments. Studies of the learning and conceptualization of hard of hearing children with "just enough hearing to get by" are an urgent need. We also need to know more about the mechanisms of adjustment to hearing loss, about mourning for loss, body image concepts, the dynamics of the suspicious set of the hard of hearing, etc. But possibly above all else there is a need of a body of knowledge concerning the dynamics of hearing in human development and adjustment. Per- haps when more is known about hearing, we shall be able to find our way through the psychological maze created by impaired hearing with greater facility. 1E. S. Levine and J. F. Garrett, Psychological Practices with the PhysicallyIDisabled (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962), pp. 332-333. In a recent conference directed at the aural rehabilitation of the acoustically handicapped, Oyer expressed the need for continuing research in the follow- ing manner: The point that I wish to make here is that hearing loss frequently produces a multiple handicap; and,there— fore , a multidimensional attack must be mounted in researching the conditions of the handicap, and the methods and procedures that must evolve to lessen the effects of the handicapping conditions. We must bring to bear the knowledges and skills of the engi- neer, the physiologist, the special educator, the psychologist, the Speech scientist, etc. For only through concerted efforts can real forward movement occur in garnering of information in this complex area of aural rehabilitation. Characteristically, aural rehabilitation programs have included multi—sensory training procedures focused on the auditory and visual modalities. The resultant programs of auditory training combined with the process variously referred to as lipreading, speechreading, or ' "visual hearing,"2 have done much toward providing the hard-of—hearing with compensatory communication channels. Several authors concerned with the rehabilitation of aurally handicapped children and adults have written 1H. J. Oyer, "Research Needs in Aural Rehabilita- tion," in Aural Rehabilitation of the Acousticallngandi- capped, Vocational Rehabilitation Administration, Contract No. VRA 66-41, August, 1966. 2M..K. Mason, "A Cinematographic Technique for Testing Visual Speech Comprehension," Journal of Speech Disorders, Volume 8 (1943), pp. 271-278. on the importance of the multi-sensory approach. Haspiel has written: Auditory training is much too important to squeeze into a few minutes of the lipreading lesson, and the hours in lipreading therapy much too important to shorten. The only solution seems to be separate but concomitant programs of auditory training and lip- reading. The skills developed dichotomously in these separate practice periods will be welded in the final lip reading lessons in which the child listens to speech while lipreading. Costello is concerned with the dual approach to aural rehabilitation when she writes, Improvement in communications has been demonstrated when the speech signal is made audible with amplifi- cation. The visual modality alone does not convey a complete speech signal nor does it lend itself to un- restricted reception of speech. Purpose of the Study Since lipreading represents an integral component of total programs for the acoustically handicapped and since it is taught routinely to deaf and hard-of—hearing p0pulations, it offers fruitful ground for research and for the subsequent application of experimental findings to the process itself. It was with this in mind that the following statement of purpose was set forth in an effort to obtain, in part, answers to the accompanying questions. 1G. S. HaSpiel, A Synthetic Approach to Lipreading (Magnolia, Mass., Expression Company, 1964), p. 14T’ 2M. R. Costello, "Hearing with Impaired Ears," in Report of the Proceedings of the 42nd Meeting of the Con- vention of American Instructors of the Deaf, Congressional Document No. 71, 89th Congress, June 21-25, 1965. It was the purpose of this study to design a test of visual synthetic ability and to assess the relation- ship of this instrument to lipreading performance as measured by the Utley Lipreading Test. Questions raised were as follows: 1. What are the components of the process referred to as visual synthetic ability as it applies to lipreading? 2. What kinds of items can be utilized to index visual synthetic ability? 3. Is there a relationship between an instrument which purports to measure visual synthetic ability and the ability to lipread spoken symbols? (a) Do high scores on a test of visual syn- thetic ability correspond to high scores obtained by the same subject on the Utley Lipreading Test or does some inverse re- lationship exist? (b) What is the relationship between a test of visual synthetic ability and the ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test? (c) What is the relationship between a test of visual synthetic ability and the ability to lipread the Utley Word Test? (d) What is the relationship between a test of visual synthetic ability and the ability to lipread the Utley Story Test? The test of visual synthetic ability consisted of the following nine subtests (described in detail in Chapter Three-~Subjects, Equipment and Procedure): (1) Geometric Forms, Recognition Speed; (2) Geometric Form Patterns, Speed of Organization; (3) Common Words, Recog- nition Speed; (4) Scattered Letters, Speed of Organizing Words; (5) Scattered Words, Speed of Organizing Sentences; (6) Deleted Sentences, Speed of Providing Missing Cues in a Verbal Context; (7) Dotted Outlines, Speed of Perceiving Letters and Digits from DiSparate Elements; (8) Object Recognition, Providing Missing Cues in a Non—Verbal Con- text; and (9) Picture Arrangement, Deriving the Whole on the Basis of Partial Cues. In order to examine the afore— mentioned variables, the following null hypotheses were formulated: 1. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize geometric forms and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. 2. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize geometric forms and thesubject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. 3. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize geometric forms and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. 4. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize geometric forms and the subject's total Utley Score. 5. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize geometric form patterns and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. 6. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize geometric form patterns and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. 7. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize geometric form patterns and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. 10. ll. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize geometric form patterns and the subject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize common words and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize common words and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can recognize common words and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. There is no significant relationship between the Speed with which a subject can recognize common words and the subject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize words from scattered letters and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize words from scattered letters and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize words from scattered letters and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. There is no significant relationship between the Speed with which a subject can organize words from scattered letters and the subject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize scattered words into sentences and the sub- ject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 250‘ 26. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize scattered words into sentences and the sub- ject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize scattered words into sentences and the sub— ject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can organize scattered words into sentences and the sub- ject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can provide missing cues to deleted sentences and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sen- tence Test. - There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can provide missing cues to deleted sentences and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can provide missing cues to deleted sentences and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. There is no significant relationship between the speed with which a subject can provide missing cues to deleted sentences and the subject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to rapidly perceive letters and digits from disparate elements and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive rapidly letters and digits from disparate elements and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley WOrd Test. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive rapidly letters and digits from disparate elements and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive rapidly letters and digits from disparate elements and the subject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive and to pro- vide missing cues in a non-verbal context and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive and to pro- vide missing cues in a non—verbal context and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test.' There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive and to pro- vide missing cues in a non-verbal context and the subject's ability to liprEad the Utley Story Test. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to perceive and to pro- vide missing cues in a non-verbal context and the subject's Total Utley Score. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to derive the whole on the basis of partial cues and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Sentence Test. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to derive the whole on the basis of partial cues and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Word Test. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to derive the whole on the basis of partial cues and the subject's ability to lipread the Utley Story Test. a... ”I. "h. \ 1 ‘u 36. There is no significant relationship between the subject's ability to derive the whole on the basis of partial cues and the subject's Total Utley Score. 37. There is no significant relationship among any of the ten variables of the test of visual synthetic ability. 38. There is no significant relationship between the total Synthesis Score and any of the four variables of the lipreading test. Importance of the Study Several researchers in aural rehabilitation have focused investigative attention on visual skills and the relationship of such skills to the process of lip- reading. Early texts devoted to lipreading emphasized eye training as a valuable adjunct to the subsequent understanding of verbal cues from the lips of a talker. Kitsonl utilized tachistosc0pic techniques to evaluate visual attention Span and visual awareness and concluded that subjects who scored high on these visual tasks also tended to score high on lipreading tasks. O'Neill2 conducted a study which attempted to evaluate lipreading ability among normal hearing college 1H. D. Kitson, "Psychological Tests for Lipreading Ability," Volta Review, Volume 17 (1915), pp. 471-6. 2J. J. O'Neill, "An Exploratory Investigation of Lipreading Ability Among Normal Hearing Students," Speech Monographs, Volume 18, No. 4 (November, 1951), pp. 309- 311. 10 students. The study was also designed to explore psychological factors which might be associated with lip- reading ability. He assumed that positive data would indicate a psychological factor or combination of factors which were associated with skill in lipreading. Twenty normal hearing college students with a mean chronological age of 23 years served as subjects for the study. None of the subjects had ever received lipreading instruction. The Mason motion picture tests of visual hearing were used as an index of lipreading ability. One of the abil- ities which was correlated with lipreading skill was the perception of spatial relations as measured by the Case- Ruch Test of Spatial Relations. Reportedly, this paper and pencil test measures the ability to perceive rapidly and accurately relationships among objects in space. O'Neil concluded that no statistically significant rela- tionship (rho = 0.27) existed between ability in perceiv- ing spatial relations and lipreading skill. In the same study, O'Neill correlated lipreading scores with General, Verbal, and Performance Intelligence and with all of the individual subtests of the Wechsler Bellevue Intelligence Test. The highest values obtained were rho = 0.35 for General Intelligence, 0.55 for Per- formance Intelligence, 0.38 for Block Design, and 0.47 for the Digit Symbol subtest. O'Neill concluded on the basis of the rho value obtained for the Block Design 11 subtest that possibly research in lipreading should focus on the ability to comprehend relationships. Instruments such as the Hanfmann-Kasanin Test and Goldstein-Scheerer Color Form and Objects Sorting Test were suggested. In another study designed to investigate the re- lationship between lipreading ability and psychological factors, O'Neill and Davidson1 correlated scores on one of the Mason silent films of lipreading skill, with con- cept formation, intelligence, reading comprehension, visual perception, and aspiration level. Thirty normal hearing college students served as subjects. The Hanfmann- Kasanin Test was utilized as an index of non-verbal concept formation. To assess visual perception, 33 slides contain- ing from four to eight digits were presented by means of a tachistoscope at an exposure time of one-tenth of a second. The correlation between the Hanfmann-Kasanin Test and lipreading ability was significant at the 0.05 per cent level of confidence. The relationship between visual perception and lipreading was non-significant. On the basis of the results, the authors concluded that lipreading skill may be a matter of recognizing con- figurations or form patterns and not verbal elements. The tasks of the Hanfmann-Kasanin Test involve sorting 1J. J. O'Neill and J. Davidson, "Relationship Be- tween Lipreading Ability and Five Psychological Factors," Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, Volume 21 (1956), pp. 478—481. 12 blocks of different colors and shapes into four categories. Thus, there is evidence for the conclusion formed by the authors. O'Neill and Davidson also concluded that lip- reading training might be greatly supplemented by train- ing in the recognition of Simple forms or lip configurations. Simmonsl conducted a study concerned with measuring the ability to lipread and the factors in an individual related to ease or difficulty with which he reads lips. The subjects of this study were 12 males and 12 females who had been evaluated at the hearing clinics of Central Institute for the Deaf. All of the subjects had been recommended for formal lipreading instruction. None of the subjects had ever received lipreading training. This review is concerned only with the factors related to lip- reading and Specifically with visual-motor coordination tasks and tasks previously evaluated by O'Neill and by O'Neill and Davidson. Simmons correlated Verbal and Full Scale 1.0. and all of the subtests of the Wechsler-Belleuve Intelligence Test with three measures of lipreading: interview tech- nique (as suggested by Simmons), the filmed Utley Test, and the filmed Mason Test. In addition, the Hanfmann- Kasanin Test was correlated with all three of the lip- reading measures. The Picture Arrangement subtest was 1Audrey Simmons, "Factors Related to Lipreading," ‘Jgurnal of Speech and Hearing Research, Volume 2 (1959), 13 Significantly correlated with both filmed tests of lipreading at the 0.05 per cent level of Confidence. The Digit Symbol subtest was correlated at the 0.05 level with the interview and Mason test of lipreading and at the 0.01 level with the Utley lipreading measure. The Block Design subtest was correlated significantly at the 0.05 level with the interview and Utley lipreading test. The Hanfmann- Kasanin Test was correlated non-significantly and negatively with the measures of lipreading performance. Simmons in- dicated that the tasks of the subtests which were correlated Significantly with lipreading ability primarily involved conceptualization of relations among parts with- out a verbal component. O'Neill and Oyer1 have indicated that all of the preceding studies in this brief review have focused on visual Skills. The Kitson study concentrated on general visual skills while the O'Neill, O'Neill and Davidson, and Simmons studies focused primarily on visual-motor coordination tasks. The results of these endeavors have been varied and sometimes contradictory, yet there appears to be consistency in the data; Kitson found a relation- ship between visual Skills and lipreading. O'Neill, O'Neill and Davidson, and Simmons all concluded that a 1J. J. O'Neill and H. J. Oyer, Visual Communica- Eipn for phe Hard of Heaping (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961), pp. 41-42. '2 v. l4 relationship existed between skill in lipreading and skill in perceiving visually relationships between objects.- The same three authors concluded that the tasks involved in perceiving relationships were not necessarily tasks which called for perception of relationships between verbal cues but rather non-verbal stimuli. Turning to a more extensive review of the litera- ture in this area, a number of investigators have sought to discover relationships between lipreading ability and varied kinds of other individual abilities. Others have been concerned with predicting pre-instruction lipreading performance and the assessment of progress during and after formalized lipreading instruction. Some researchers have focused attention on the relationship between lipreading ability and intelligence. Pintnerl utilized face-to-face lipreading tests and correlated the results of these lipreading tests with intelligence as measured by the Pintner Non-Language Test. In addition, he assessed the intelligibility of each sub- ject's Speech and correlated this measure with the Pintner Non-Language Test. Two examiners read the lipreading stimuli and the same two examiners evaluated the 1Rudolf Pintner, "Speech and Speech-Reading Tests for the Deaf, " Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 13 (1929), pp. 220- 225. 15 intelligibility of each subject's Speech. There was high reliability between examiners on intelligibility ratings and on presenting lipreading stimuli. Seven hundred ninety one deaf children (212 en- rolled in deaf institutions; 196 in day schools for the deaf; 383 in both day schools and institutions) served as subjects for the study. The children were all from ad- vanced classes (the mean ages of the subjects were not included in the article). The correlations between subject Speech intellig- ibility and intelligence were zero regardless of which examiner rated intelligibility. Correlations between speechreading ability and intelligence were also extremely low and non-significant. In order to assess speechreading, subjects were required to read from the lips of both examiners as each read a different set of ten sentences. In addition, Pintner also correlated speech in- telligibility and speechreading ability with the Pintner Educational Survey Test, a measure of educational achieve- ment. The correlations were all positive, leading Pintner to conclude that intelligible Speech and good Speechread- ing are important, even crucial, in educational achievement of deaf children. The author also correlated, for insti- tutionalized children only, speech intelligibility scores and amount and duration of loss. The correlations were positive indicating a relationship between amount and 16 duration of hearing loss and the intelligibility of a subject's Speech. In 1946, Reid1 designed a study which had as its purpose the development and standardization of a test of lipreading achievement. She constructed a filmed test of lipreading consisting of the following stimuli: series of 17 vowels and diphthongs series of 11 consonants series of 10 unrelated sentences series of related sentences telling a story Short story at the end of which were four questions the subjects were to answer. UlswaI-J 3’>:53’> Three talkers (two women and a man) were filmed in color as they presented the variety of stimulus materials. Ninety-nine girls from two residential deaf schools served as subjects. All were classified by their teachers as having the necessary language ability to participate in the test. Four scores were obtained for each subject, a total score and separate scores for each of the three forms (scores on isolated sounds were not included in the total score but were retained for statistical analysis). Scores on the lipreading tests were correlated with teacher ratings of lipreading proficiency for 97 subjects, with chronological ages for 98 subjects, with intelligence quotients for 58 subjects, with mental ages lGladys Reid, "A Preliminary Investigation in the Testing of Lipreading Achievement," American Annals of the Deaf, VOlume 91 (1946), pp. 403-413. 17 for 57 subjects, and with Stanford Achievement grades for 35 subjects. In addition, the scores obtained on the instruments for assessing lipreading were correlated. The various forms of the lipreading test were found to have high reliability. A significant correlation was found between lip- reading ability and teacher ratings of lipreading pro— ficiency. No Significant relationship was found between lipreading ability and chronological age. Reid concluded, in this instance, that lipreading proficiency as measured by her test, and amount of training Showed little rela- tionship to each other. The correlation between lipread- ing and intelligence quotients was insignificant as was the correlation between lipreading and mental age. There was an insignificant correlation between Stanford Achieve- ment grades and lipreading. On the basis of the obtained results, Reid con- cluded in the following manner:_ It is very probable that the teSt constructed for this study measured only the more mechanical and objective factors of lipreading ability. A finer test is needed that will measure the more elusive and subtle factors (which both the hearing and deaf use to gain meaning) if this is possible.1 Ibid., p. 412. 18 Mention has been made of the studies of O'Neill,l O'Neill and Davidson,2 and Simmons,3 and the relationships which these investigators have been able to establish between lipreading ability and intelligence instruments. Other authors have explored the relationship be- tween behavioral characteristics and lipreading skill. Stobschinski4 has written on the behavioral patterns of lipreaders. According to this author, lipreading is a linguistic thought activity. Psychologically, Stobschinski differentiates four types of Speech thinking: (1) the visual type; (2) the acoustic type; (3) the Speech-motor type; and (4) the script-motor type (which seldom appears and was not treated in this article). Visual Speech types are individuals who think in printed or written Speech representations. Thinking in written symbols is a form of object thinking and, therefore, "only that form of thinking may be designated as visual-speech type in which the mind works with the visual primary form of expression; 1O'Neill, "Investigations of Lipreading Ability," pp. 309-311. 2O'Neill and Davidson, "Lipreading Ability and Psychological Factors," pp. 478-481. 3Simmons, "Factors Related to Lipreading." pp. 340- 352. 4Robert Stobschinski, "Lip Reading: Its Psycho- logical Aspects and Its Adaptation to the Individual Needs of the Hard of Hearing," American Annals of the Deaf, ‘Volmme 73 (1928), pp. 234-242. 19 these are the optic motion pictures of speech."1 The author indicates that a pure visual-Speech type is of great importance in the acquisition of lipreading, for such guarantees association of audible speech through the eye. The acoustic type of speech thinking is least amenable to lipreading since the acoustic channel is blocked by deafness. Stobschinski places emphasis also on a speech motor type, an individual who receives Speech and uses thinking in terms of the motoric, kinesthetic This type of Speech thinking is aspects of the message. enhanced as the deaf child is taught to imitate the sounds he sees on the talker's lips. In Short, this type of Speech thinking prompts the listener to use his own meCilianism for Speaking (only in thinking) in order to understand what is being said. Since much learning iS accOmpliShed through. imitation the speech motor type is more likely to acquire lipreading skills. In summary, the author concludes in the following manner: 1A definite degree of education is not necessary, but ea large vocabulary, a good intuitive sense of langu- iage, a preference for the pursuit of language, and :for linguistic practice are exceedingly useful.2 _.~‘_‘_¥ lIbid., pp. 235-236. 21bid., p. 242. 20 O'Neill,1 and O'Neill and Davidson,2 have looked at such behavioral factors as orientation to speech, ability in judging emotions and various reactions to personality instruments such as the Rorschach and the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Test. In addition, level of subject aspiration was assessed. In no case did any of these behavioral patterns correlate Significantly w1th lipreading ability as measured by various of the Mason films. Gault3 looked at the relationship between tactual stimulation and lipreading ability. The author of this article was involved in an experiment whereby the vibra— tions that correspond to Spoken elements, words, sentences, and connected Speech werelchanneled instrumentally to the subj ect's fingertips. The subject received a tactual sensation of the message. The results of this multisen- sory approach with one subject are treated in this article. \ 1O'Neill, "Investigation of Lipreading Ability," pp‘ 3 09-311. 2O'Neill and Davidson, "Lipreading Ability and Psychological Factors," pp. 478-481- 3Robert Gault, "On the Identification of Certain V Q‘olwel and Consonant Elements in Words by Their Tactual real 1t1es and by Their Visual Qualities as Seen by Lip— ad~:i.ng," Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Volume 22 , (1927- -28), pp. 33- 39. 21 The subject was a 28 year old female, classified by Gault as a "fair" lipreader. Two experimental treat- ments were utilized: (a) the examiner presented words out of context and the subject utilized lipreading only; and (b) the examiner presented stimulus words out of con- text and the subject used lipreading and tactual sensation combined.- Prior to this experiment, the subject had re- ceived 200 hours of instruction in recognizing tactual One hundred seventy two words chosen from sen s ationS . It was reported colloquial English were used as stimuli. by the author that in every instance the Speech reading and tactual sensation approach was superior to Speech reading alone. It appears that Gault was attempting to make a point for still another multisensory approach to 1iPreading instruction. The studies reviewed to this point certainly do not exhaust the literature on the attributes of a success- ful lipreader. However, they do serve to- point up the c O O 0 I I Onf 11 s1on involved 1n determ1n1ng the necessary charact- e . I I ' O r131: 1cs that a person must possess 1n order to receive messages by interpreting symbols as they appear on the lo 198 of a talker. Yet, in Spite of the apparent confusion, a per- v . as ILVe, elusive factor appears to be present in the data. 22 Kitsonl found a relationship between lipreading ability 2 and an ability he termed "visual awareness." O'Neill suggested that the ability to comprehend relationships might be related to lipreading skill. O'Neill and Davidson3 stressed that lipreading training might be en- hanced if subjects were given instruction in perceiving configurations and form patterns. They based their con- clusions on a test which involved perceiving relationships 4found that tasks which required be tween objects . Simmons conceptualization of relationships were correlated signi- ficantly with lipreading. The pervasive factor associated with lipreading Skill is apparently related to an ability to perceive re- lationships, e.g. sorting blocks according to color and form or constructing a design from two-colored blocks WhiCh are presented to the examinee in a random fashion. Although the exact nature of the relationship has not been e""E>3l—J'.citly stated, it is interesting to speculate that lipreading involves perceiving relationships in the sense that a number of verbal cues appear on a talker's lips. \ 476 lKitson, "Tests for Lipreading Ability," pp, 471- p 2O'Neill, "Investigation of Lipreading Ability," P - 309-311. I? 3O'Neill and Davidson, "Lipreading Ability and SYChological Factors," pp. 478-481. 35 Simmons, "Factors Related to Lipreading," pp. 340- 2 23 From this number the lipreader will recognize some but certainly not all of the cues, and yet successful lip- readers are able to see somehow the relationships between the cues and assemble theserscattered data into a meaning- ful message. Certainly not all of the cues come from the lips Since facial eXpression, gestures, 'and the communica- tion environment will enhance the lipreader's reception of the message. Apparently, the lipreader is able to form messages on the basis of part cues. He perceives the interaction which exists between lip cues, gestures, facial expression, and the communication tOpic or situa- tion. This ability to derive meaningful messages from Partial visual data appears to be an important component 0f the process of lipreading, and this ability is thought to be synthesis (a more extensive definition of synthetic ability will be given at a later time). It is pertinent, therefore, to explore the nature of this relationship in an effort to establish the attributes of a successful li£>J:‘eader. With the relationship established and subse- que1:11:1y explained it appears feasible that lipreading ins truction might concentrate on training the specific Ski3.15 which are assessed by this instrument. 24 Definition of Terms Visual Synthetic Ability Since the purpose of this study is to design a test of visual synthetic ability and to assess the rela- tionship of this instrument to lipreading performance as measured by the Utley Lipreading Test, considerable effort is devoted to the Operational definition of these terms. The material included with this definition is thought to reflect, in part, the components of the visual synthetic process, even though many of the authors reviewed here do not make direct reference to synthesis. Piercel commenting on the psychology of speech reading, discussed the process in the following manner: This is because Speech reading requires the greatest Speed possible, the ability to jump at an inference and the power to carry several ideas‘in one's head at one time. Speech reading is mind reading because a great many other things are necessary than a technical knowledge of the primary motions of the lips. . . . The speech reader does not understand every word that is spoken to him just as the hearing man. does not hear every word. Sometimes he does not even perceive the Whole of one word. He must deduce by placing them all together and grasping from the whole, the meaning in- tended. ‘ . . . I~"catch" a word here and there and gather from them the missing words.2 \ v0 lJerry Pierce, "The Psychology of Speech Reading," ~&a Review, Volume 16, No. 2 (February, 1914), pp. 56-59. 21bid., pp. 56—57. 25 Smith1 wrote concerning the variables involved in the lipreading process and indicated that "If intuitional rather than logical methods are followed in the reading cxf lips, guessing constitutes a large part of the process." The author goes on to conclude a number of other variables ncrt directly related to lip movement: Indeed, the Speaker's whole play of features and un- conscious body movements are eXponents of his thoughts. The fleeting involuntary significations, definite and tentative, playing about the mouth during speech are even more engaging than the habitual expression of the lips. Torrey2 has written on the process of learning to lipread. She indicated that some people find it an im- POSsible task while others find it quite easy, and she attributes this difference in ease of learning to a diff- efence in the minds of peOple who lipread. She stressed that people with intuition, a synthetic mind, and quick Perception will find it relatively easy to lipread. Lip- reaci:i_ng instruction involves mind training as well as eye trair1ing. Mind training involves the development of syn- thes is first, intuition second, and rapidity of-thought tjtiltcflu The process was described as thought WhiCh skips \ V01 lRena Smith, "The Veil of Silence," Volta Review, Ilrne 16, No. 8 (August, 1914), pp. 535-539. 2Gertrude Torrey, "Lip Reading for the Adult Deaf," 8 (August, 1914), pp. 541- Vt> . algae ReV1ew, Volume 16, No. 26 ahead, anticipates and arrives at a correct understanding without word-for-word accuracy. Howelll has written in great detail on the tOpic of watching lips and discerning meaning from the movements. She emphasized the need to recognize movements but not to memorize rules. According to this writer, the skillful lipreader is not conscious of seeing every movement any more than a reader is conscious of every letter or every distinct word; however, the skillful reader is able to get the meaning of whole sentences and sometimes the whole paragraph at a glance. Howell recommended that the syn- thetic qualities of the mind be developed, and these qualities involve intuition, deduction, inference, and grasping meanings as a whole. Mabel Gardiner Bell2 presented a personal account of how she learned speechreading, and in so doing, She gave her theory of lipreading. In discussing the obstacles to lipreading she concluded in the following manner: "Good eyeSight, therefore, cannot alone surmount such obstacles 3 , to easy, rapid, and accurate speechreading." The author \ 1 1Louise Howell, "Lipreading for the Hard of Hear- ng Adult," Volta Review, Volume 19, No. 1 (January, 1917), p? - 15-16. re 2Mabel Gardiner Bell, "The Subtile Art of Speech- a:ding," Volta Review, Volume 19, No. 3 (March, 1917), pp - 104-116. 31bid., p. 112. 27 concluded the article with a discussion of the good habits which are involved in the lipreading process. She stressed that the mind must be developed to perceive the Ineaning of what is said as a whole on the basis of just a few words or even parts of words. In summary of the article, Bell is quoted as follows: The art of speechreading, then, consists in the ability instantaneously to select the word used by the speaker out of a half a dozen that resemble it, and rapidly to build up a correct conception of what he has said from occasional words distinctly recognized here and there in his speech; in other words, reading by context.l Clarke and Walker,2 concerned with the large nuInbers of war induced hearing losses, ‘wrote an article Which presented lessons in lipreading for deafened soldiers. They stressed the importance of the psychological aspects of’ 1:11e process and the combined approach of eye and mind training. lie should always make his responses as rapid as poss- jlble; that is to say, he should react immediately. lie should avoid repeating after the teacher as far as Ipossible, for constant repetition tends to make the Inind slow, and develops the analytical habit of mind éas Opposed to the synthetic. Lipreading is difficult; E3 consideration of what the eye cannot see and of the Jcapidity of speech makes the task of learning to read Zlips appear almost insuperable. The beginner must Jrealize, however, that the limitations of observation 3 Eire far outweighed by the limitless powers of the mind. \ 11bid. Ike: 2Juliet Clarke and Jane Walker, "Lessons in Lip- \J()E‘€11ng for Deaf Soldiers (Nitchie Method), Volta Review, lume 20, No. 3 (March, 1918), pp. 129-133. 31bid., p. 130. 28 In summarizing on the various training aspects of mind and eye, the authOrs concluded in the following manner: The eyes must be trained (1) to be accurate, (2) to be ' quick, (3) to retain visual impressions, (4) and to do their work subconsciously. . . . The mind must be trained to be (1) synthetic, (2) to be intuitive, (3) to be alert, (4) to be quick.1 Kenfield2 published an article in which she dis- cnassed some of the mental problems of lipreading. In this athicle, she made the point that lipreading does not re- quire some special sense but rather natural or trained use ch the eyes and certain mental qualities already possessed kxy' the lipreader (but in some instances not develOped). Iflnee problem, according to Kenfield, is how to make the Synthetic intuitive mind more accurate, and also how best tKD make the analytical mind graSp the whole of a thought. She states: As we all know, a low lipreader, or one who has diff- iculty in acquiring proficiency in lip-reading, is of an analytical turn of mind and very literal. Every word must be seen in order that any thought can be grasped. There seems to be little if any synthetic ability, a narrow mental range, and small or no capac- ity for imagination. Two or three lip-movement words in a sentence, recognized immediately, call forth no mental picture. 1Ibid., p. 130. 2Coralie Kenfield, "Some Mental Problems of Lip- reading," Volta Review, Volume 21, No. 1 (January, 1919), Pp- 38—39. 3 Ibid., p. 38. ..- of. A. ' g 29 At a meeting of the Progressive Oral Advocates in '1919, Elizabeth Helm Nitchiel presented a paper entitled "The Synthetic Method and Why I Believe in It." From this paper comes the first actual definition of the synthetic ‘process, although the materials are not surprising in light (of the literature reviewed to this point.‘ The author pro- xzided the following definition of synthetic ability: This is the power the mind has of constructing the whole from the parts. By it the lipreader is enabled" to understand complete thought even though many of the movements and even some of the words have been missed. It is the Opposite of the analytic tendency of the mind which demands everything before anything is understood. It is natural for most minds to work along synthetic lines. It is the way the baby understands. The syn- thetic method is the preferred modern method of teach- ing children to read: also of teaching foreign languages. Iqiztchie also discussed the intuitive ability which is necessary for successful lipreading. According to her, the illtuitive power of the mind is defined in the following manner: This term is used to signify the power of the mind to anticipate the thought; the lipreader, thus being ready for the thought, understands it so much more readily than he would something for which the mind was not pre- pared. . . . The synthetic and intuitive powers of the lipreader are both processes of the constructive imagi- nation. Intuition in its common meaning is used under 1Elizabeth Helm Nitchie, "The Synthetic Method and Fifty I Believe in It," from the Proceedings of the Second :nual Convention of the Progressive Oral Advocates, liblished in VoltaReview, Volume 21, No. 12 (December, 1 919) , pp. 759-795. 21bid., p. 767. 30 circumstances where the one exercising the power has a slight clue on which to work. He reaches his conclu- sions or constructs his whole with very little to go on. Where the clues are obvious or considerable, in- tuition is not the correct word to describe the process, and this is the case in much of our lipreading. It is synthesis, not intuition. Nevertheless, the mind of the lipreader often does work intuitively, especially when it is directed toward the future, toward the thought anticipated.~ In the best lipreaders the syn- l thetic and intuitive powers have been highly developed. McLean2 has written an article which discussed the manner in which several acquaintances of the author devel- Oped the power to Speech read. From this article comes a definition of synthetic ability which is not unlike that presented by Elizabeth Nitchie: In reading a story from the mouth, the pupil began by trying to see every word; but she was able to check this tendency very promptly and to try instead to under- stand the thought of each sentence. When the story was read again and she was directed to try to understand every word, there were only a few words that she did not have. This showed that after having the thought, she had been able to supply some of the words missed in the first reading. The power of putting parts together so as to understand the whole--the synthetic power--was one of her most favorable qualities. Following the presentation of the paper at the C0n‘vention of the Progressive Oral Advocates, Elizabeth 1Ibid., p. 768. 2Marjorie McLean, "The Development of Speech- Ifeading Power," Volta Review, Volume 22, No. 8 (August, 920). pp. 484-494. * 31bid., p. 494. 31 Nitchiel published another article dealing with the method of teaching lipreading advocated by her famous husband. In this paper, the author discussed procedures for the assessment of synthetic ability in potential lipreaders. The following represents that list of questions. 2. Do you skip along as you read? Do you sometimes read a whole paragraph or page at a glance? The answers to these questions will determine, in a measure, whether the pupil has synthetic ability or not. If,a pupil has the ability to skip when he reads, it is very good evidence that he has synthetic ability. 4. Do you know French or German? If so, can you read either one without translating and without necessarily understanding every word? The answers to those questions will determine again the measure of the pupil's synthetic ability. .If he has the power to read French or German without translating and without necessarily knowing the meaning of every word he has some synthetic ability and some powers of intuition.‘ These questions will give you a pretty good line upon the possibilities of the pupil. Approximately 10 years after the publication of 11143 first article on the psychology of speech reading, 3 Pierce published still another article on the same topic. 3111 ‘this second paper, the author goes into a rather detailed \ 1Elizabeth Nitchie, "The Nitchie Method of Lip— reElding," Volta Review, Volume 22, No. 10 (October, 1920), PP- 621—629. 2 Ibid., pp. 621-622. ‘, 3Jerry Pierce, "The Psychology of Speech-Reading," E§%%%§a Review,Volume 25, No. 11 (November, 1923), pp. 522- a " — .... a .VA W 5:. (A! v “I ' CA, 1 y. 32 explanation of the process of lipreading. From this explanation comes something very close to Elizabeth Nitchie's definition of synthesis: The term speech-reading was created through recognition of the fact that more than the lips are watched; that other parts of the face are almost equal in importance to the lips. In speech-reading there is no time to stOp and think, there are no spare moments to consult an instruction book, or to analyze past experience. . . . He cannot swear that he sees the word he recognizes, or that he can repeat with any degree of accuracy what has been said to him. Yet, in some way he usually receives the sense of the communication. - So much intuition is necessary that it has always been a source of astonishment to me that practical, useful speech-reading can be done. Intuition leads to many interesting conclusions and gives rise to some remark— able coincidences. It is virtually impossible to understand every word in extended conversation, but when the subject and predi- cate are known it is comparatively an easy matter to fill in the gaps. . . . It takes some skill and much experience to make two disconnected words create sense; but two words here and another there often make sense in themselves and give the speech-reader a much better opportunity to follow word for word that which is to come. In a lecture given by Marie Berg2 in 1926, devoted t“3 ,a.discussion of the Brauckmann or, as it is currently knOwn, the Jena Method of lipreading, Mrs. Berg indicated \ 1 . " Ibldo ’ pp. 523-5250 2Marie Berg, "The Lip-Reading Problem According to Bli‘auckmann," Volta Review, Volume 29, No. 6 (June, 1927), Pp. 268-273. 33 that Brauckmann did not deny the necessity of synthesis in lipreading but chose to define it in the following manner: Instead of this the attempt was made to read on the lips whole series of movements; but since the eye can- not grasp all these movements, but sees only certain fragments that it can recognize with certainty, the significance of a considerable part must be arrived at by synthesis. But in order to be able to synthesize correctly the hard of hearing must carry in the memory those fragments of the sentence that have been seen, so that, when the sentence is completed, he may be able to grasp its meaning correctly by supplying mentally those parts that were not seen. Numbers2 published an article in 1939 which dealt ‘with the factors involved in the lipreading process. Two 19inds of factors are required in the good lipreader. He nuist.be able to recognize Speech sound movements, and he must be able to organize these cues into meaningful words and sentences. When sensory cues fail to give a comprehen- sive picture, inference and the formation of combinations must be relied on for communication. The recognition of small movements must be learned thoroughly, and this recognition coupled with the ability to grasp the thought CNE the speaker will result in successful lipreading. 3 Bell talked about a process very much like Nit-<:hie's synthesis in describing her own "Speech reading \ 1Ibid., p. 268. I! 2Mary Numbers, "An Experiment in Lipreading," Volta ~£EEE£§fly VOlume, 41, No. 5 (May, 1939), pp. 261-264. 1‘, 3Mabel Hubbard Bell, "Helping the Deaf Read the ‘;LE>s.of Their Hearing Contemporaries," Volta Review, 01111118 42, NO. 10 (October, 1940), pp. 607-610. 34 machinery." The author reportedly systematically reviewed the factors which she thought were necessary to reading lips, and she concluded in the following manner: Speech reading is the systemized result of practice: 1) In selecting the right word from a large assortment of possible words. 2) In grasping the meaning of what is said from a few words or even parts of those words recognized here and there. The art of speech reading consists in seeking to grasp the meaning of what is said as a whole. It is quite possible to read word by word, mechanically from the speaker's lips, but it is the slowest, most uninterest- ing and most difficult method of speech reading. The power of grasping meanings as wholes of resemblances, results in understanding as surely and a thousand times more rapidly than by the mechanical word by word deciphering. Keith2 has made a point for the necessity of drill .ir1 lipreading instruction indicating that repetition establishes familiarity of "strong" consonants and vowels and consequently these elements are easily lipread in con- \rexrsational speech. In a portion of this article devoted ‘t<> training the unconscious the author stated that good lipreaders learn to grasp whole phrases on the basis of a few cues. The cues which he does recognize, however, are thOsemost firmly established through drill. \ 1Ibid., p. 609. 2John Keith, "Everyone Has What It Takes," Volta Review-Volume“, No. 9 (September,'l943), pp. 576—-578. 35 Mileskyl was concerned with testing lipreading potential in deaf and hard of hearing children. Two of the factors which he explored were analytic ability and He defined the two terms according to synthetic ability. The the tasks which he utilized to measure the abilities. Picture Completion subtest, Block Design subtest, and Knox Blocks were utilized to assess analytic ability. The Object Assembly subtest and the Color Patterns test was utilized as synthetic ability. This author describes synthetic ability as a power to see things as a whole, to be able to look at scattered elements and discern the “finale. He further indicated that analytic ability is a deterrent to effective lipreading and that high scores obtained on any of the tests utilized to measure this (al>ility would indicate that the subject was not a good prOSpeCt for successful lipreading. Keppler2 published a reCent article which contained 51 (iiscussion of oralism and the procedures involved in the Oral method of combined speech and speechreading. The folilowing was taken to be indicative of a description of the synthetic process as described by this author: \ ‘1 1Samuel Milesky, "Testing Lipreading Potential," °\lta Review, Volume 62, No. 7 (July, 1960), pp. 373-375. ‘7 2Jean Keppler, "Oralism is Living," Volta Review, c>:|.ume 68, No. 4 (April, 1966), pp. 274-278. 36 In reading lips we search for the thought not individual word sounds. Reading lips is like reading a book. We do so in phrases to get the thought. This is a vital part of the process; even more valid When one stops to think that a large percentage of sounds are invisible, though paradoxically, after learning the names of things, we study sounds to develOp our lipreading ability, which aids our speech training. The background in speech drilling aids in interpreting puzzling words. Conversation moves swiftly leaving little time to analyze words that escape us, unless that word is a key one revealing thought. Only then do we ask for repetition. TO this point, a number of articles have been treated which are thought to contain elements of the syn- thetic process. Yet only a few of these authors have «actually incorporated a definition focused on synthesis. Iii Edward Nitchie'szcomprehensive textbook on lipreading, the author stressed that Spoken language does not lend .it:self readily to lipreading since many sounds are formed vvixthin the mouth or occasionally in the throat. He further Estrated that sound duration is approximately 1/12-1/13 of a second, a fact which greatly increases the burden of the lipreader. In the early part of the text, Nitchie empha- sized the necessity for mind training in the following 1manner: The method of mind training should aim to develOp this power Of grasping thoughts as wholes, and to avoid strictly anything that will enhance the Opposite tend- ency, Of demanding verbal accuracy before anything is \ lIbid., p. 277. 2Edward Nitchie, LipeReading (New York: 1‘- Stokes Company, 1919), pp. 1—324. Frederick 37 understood at all. Minds Of the latter type are literal, analytical, unimaginative. Yet there are very few who are altogether Of this kind; most of us, however analytical, have some ability Of putting things together, of constructing the whole from the parts, of quick intuition.1 In the preceding statement Nitchie has implied that synthesis and intuition are the same mental phenomenon. At a later point, the terms are again used synonomously: Someone will make a remark which you fail to under- stand: the word "what" is on your lips, but before it is fairly uttered the whole sentence will come to you like a flash. When this intuitive, synthetic power is highly developed, the "natural-born" lipreader is the result. .As Nitchie discussed "Teaching Aims," however, he referred tc> intuition and synthesis as two separate processes and ideicated that mind training should develop synthetic aak>ility, intuition, quickness, and alertness. The power (bf? jumping intuitively to the right conclusions was described as a potent aid to synthesis. Elizabeth Nitchie3 followed the same vein of thought as her husband and chose to define "synthesis" and "iJItuition" as separate processes. However, the defini- tions of this author really imply that intuition and synthesis are functions which vary on a "mental power" (“DIItinuum. The continuum can be thought of as varying from lIbid., p. 9. 21bid., p. 10. 3 Elizabeth Nitchie, "The Synthetic Method," pp. '759-795. 38 intuition or moving to a "whole" on the basis of only the slightest cues, to synthesis or moving to a "whole" on the basis of manifold Obvious cues. The number of cues avail- able tO the lipreader appears to be the sole factor diff- erentiating the powers of intuition and synthesis. For this reason, it is hypothesized by this writer that intui— tion and synthesis are both the result Of the same mental ability, not discrete powers Of the mind, but basically the same power. In fact, synthesis might be thought of as one kind of intuition. James McCosh,1 early President Of the College of New Jersey, wrote a text entitled Intuitions Of the Mind, tlie purpose Of which was to investigate ancient and con- ‘teemporary philosophies relative to the power Of mental :irmtuition. The author is careful to differentiate between iaxlalysis and synthesis as relations which are intuitively <3k>served. In his discussion of "Relations Of Whole and Parts" McCOSh is quoted as follows: Abstraction is eminently an intellectual Operation. In it we contemplate a part as part of a whole, say a quality as a quality of a substance; for example, transparency as a quality of ice, or of some other sub- stance. In all such exercises there is involved a Correlative Power. This power may be called Comprehen- sion, inasmuch as it contemplates the whole in its relation to the parts; or Abstraction, inasmuch as it 1James McCosh, The Intuitions of the Mind (New Yc>:r:k: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1880), pp. 1-151. 39 contemplates the part, as part of the whole; and the Faculty of Analysis and Synthesis, inasmuch as it re— solves the whole into its parts-finalysifl, and shows that the parts make up the whole [synthesis]. There is, if I do not mistake, intuition involved in every exercise. K. W. Wild2 has written a rather detailed explora- tion of the mental faculty Of intuition. In this text the author discusses moral intuition, aesthetic intuition, the intuition of genius, teleology, and the values, in addition to discussions of intuition according to Bergson, Spinoza, Croce, Jung, Levy-Bruhl and Jung, and Whitehead. From this extensive work Wild derives a number of definitions (Df intuition, one Of which is very close to Bunge's defi- rrition Of the "power of synthesis." According to Wild, Intuition is the realization of particulars or wholes as distinct from mere perception; e.g. one may perceive all the different aspects of a chair or a person, and have an intuition of a particular chair as one whole, Of a friend as one individual, of a varied scene or train of circumstances as picture or novel. VVimld also indicates that the word "intuition" is Often Used to express a function or combination of functions Such as "rapid synthetic judgement." Mario Bunge4 has published a text, the substance ‘Df' which was a series of lectures Sponsored by the 11bid., p. 219. 2K. W. Wild, Intuition (Cambridge: University Press, 1938) , pp. 1-240. 3 Ibid., p. 211. 4Mario Bunge, Intuition and Science (Englewood (Zliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.,ll962), pp. 1-451. 4O Departments of Mathematics, PhilOSOphy, and Physics at the University of Pennsylvania, in 1960. The text is an attempt to "elucidate the functions intuition fulfills in those fields of thought where it occurs most frequently; philOSOphy, mathematics, and factual science." In his discussion of the scientists'intuitions (implying that there are varied kinds Of scientific intui- tion) the author includes the "power Of synthesis" as an intuition of the scientific mind. This power is described in the following manner: Power Of synthesis, or global vision, or synoptic grasp: the ability to synthesize heterogeneous ele- ments to combine formerly scattered items into a - ~ ll ' u ' . 1 un1f1ed or harmonic whole, 1.e., a conceptual system. From this review, the preceding hypothesis of the vvrriter appears feasible, and synthetic ability can be 'tliought of as a kind of intuition.5 Therefore, Nitchie's Premise that the two processes should be incorporated and develOped in a phase of lipreading instruction termed 'Vfluind training" is not necessarily credible in this light. From all of the information gathered to this point, the ifCfiLlowing definition of "synthetic ability" is Offered as operational for purposes Of this paper: Ibid., p. 86. 41 Visual Synthetic Ability This term implies the rapid, intuitive power of the lipreader to extract cues from a communication situa- tion, and to combine and integrate these cues to form the talker's message. The process is, indeed, one Of recog- nizing the formation Of specific sounds as they appear on the lips of a talker, but it also includes the facial ex- pression of the talker, the talker's gestures, and the lipreader's knowledge Of the communication situation including the tOpic Of conversation and the participants. bk: attempt will be made here to assign weights to the cues, Inar is there any implication that the lipreader sees all cxf'the visible cues which are utilized by the talker in any communication situation. In short, "visual synthetic ialoility" implies a rapid, intuitive power Of the lipreader ‘tra derive messages on the basis Of partial cues gathered ‘VEisually and intuitively from manifold sources. Talker This term refers to the person on the Utley Lip- reading Test who administers the stimulus materials. ..LiEreader The individual who utilizes the process Of lip- reEading is referred to as the lipreader in this study. 42 Lipreading This term refers to the process employed by the lipreader to tell what the talker is saying by utilizing visual cues in the absence of the acoustic component of the oral symbol. Lipreading Ability This term refers to the score obtained by a sub- ject on the filmed Utley Lipreading Test. Organization Of the Report Chapter I contains a statement of the problem that .leed to this study. This chapter included an introduction t1) the research and a statement of the purpose of the :31;udy. It has set forth the hypotheses to be considered, :1!) addition to noting the importance of this endeavor.- Also included are definitions of the terms to be used tllroughoutthe study. Chapter II reviews the literature pertaining to tachistosc0pic studies, closure, incomplete stimuli, and visual perception studies, and perception and aural rehab- ilation studies . Chapter III presents a description of the subjects arna equipment used in the experiment and a discussion of time procedure followed in conducting the experiment. 43 Chapter IV is concerned with a presentation Of the results of the study and a discussion Of these results. Chapter V consists Of a summary statement and con- clusions which were drawn from the results of the study, together with implications for future research.) no. V-A ... ‘1 0“ ‘Q.. ‘7 .. 1“ (I) ‘I r) CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The following materials represent a comprehensive review of the available literature pertinent to this re- search study. The publications reviewed here relate variously to such topics as visual perception (as it is assessed by tachistosc0pic apparatus), visual duration tfliresholds, closure, perception as it relates to completed a11d incompleted tasks, bisected geometric figures, word fusequency as a determinant Of visual duration threshold, etc. All of these materials are thought to be relevant to ‘tlie present study and are, thus, included for the reader's Cxansideration. The studies are divided into three general CHitegories and are presented chronologically within each Category. TachistoscOpic Studies In 1914, Smith1 conducted an experimental investi- gfrtion Of perception designed to answer, in part, the fC>1.lowing questions: (1) What are the factors involved in e_~_p lFrank Smith, "An Experimental Investigation Of ENErception," British Journal of Psychology, Volume 6 (June l913-February 1914), pp. 321-262. 44 45 the process Of perception? (2) Are we justified in making a classification of individuals according to their type Of perception? (3) DO adults and children show any funda- mental differences in their manner of perceiving? Thirty-two adults and 38 children of varying ages (not specified by the author) served as subjects in Smith's research. The author utilized a tachistoscope as the primary apparatus in the study. The exposure time for projecting stimulus materials was l/13 second. The time interval was varied occasionally. All Objects which were ‘to be viewed by the subjects were in the form of lantern :Slides. Smith indicated that stimulus materials were cdaosen for varied reasons such as simplicity, complexity, :EExmiliarity, or strangeness. The subjects were told some- ‘tliing about the nature of the eXperiment and the part they vveare to play. The data were in the form of self reports Iwacorded verbatim by the examiner, e.g. the subject re- Ported as comprehensively as possible any associations the Picture had called up, any feelings, emotions, or any lirtEerences he had made. The examiner questioned any sub- jQCt who reported vague statements, and he also inquired 1Telative to any statements which might have been forgotten. After initial exposure of any one picture, the picture was again exposed so that the subject could make additional ccnuments or corrections relative to his first report. This Procedure was repeated until each subject reported that he 46 had exhausted his comments about any one picture. The following results were reported by the author. Adult subjects could be divided roughly into two general groups: (1) Those who continued to see each picture as a whole; (2) Subjects who made a more or less systematic search for details. The subjects in the first group made little pro- gress in recognizing or solving the pictures. This was to be contrasted to the second group who searched for details and made steady progress in solving the pictures. Subjects of this second group reported that the pictures began to lose unity and became a mere collection of parts. This effect persisted even when the exposure duration was lengthened to two or three seconds. According to Smith, the second group of subjects showed more systematic proce- dure and mental activity than subjects of the first group. Some subjects Showed a listlessness and a lack Of method which could best be described as passivity. How- ever, among the adult subjects some could be designated clearly as active.— Stimulus pictures were divided into the categories of simple and complex by the subjects.- The simple pictures were those consisting of only one thing, whereas the complex pictures related an incident whose meaning was somewhat hidden. The following subjective factors were reported in the problem-solving behavior of the adult subjects: visual ‘l ..n. , .p-v‘ npu vuv ,_9‘ v. .... ... ‘I-Iv IA UH 47 imagery, subjective additions, Objective changes in the pictures, subjective certainty, readiness Of decision, associations, self-projection, improbability, and influ- ence of the first idea formed by the subjects. The results for child subjects in this experiment were reported according to their chronological age and the type Of school environment from which they came. The six year Old subjects were taken from two dissimilar school environments, one elementary school being located in a "poor" environment and the other in a "good" environment. The male subjects Of the first group showed a definite tendency to add imaginative detail to their percepts, and nothing seemed too grotesque or impossible to be applied to any one picture. This tendency was less marked in females. Neither male nor female subjects of the second group showed this tendency. Both groups viewed the picture as a whole with little attention paid to Specific details. In both groups decisions were made at once and all subjects were rapidly pleased with their answers. The second group differed from the first in that more inferences were made and frequently reasons were given for statements which were made. It was generally concluded that subjects from a "good" school environment showed greater reliability and activity than subjects from a "poor" school environment. 48 The 12 year Old subjects in this study were divided into the following three school environments: (1) an elementary school in a "poor" district; (2) en ele- mentary school in a "good" district; and (3) a grammar school. The following results were reported by the author. In the first group there was greater evidence of activity than among the Six year Old sample from the same school, however, this group could still best be described as passive. Girls gave more correct answers than boys gave, they were better able to discover the meaning of complex pictures, and they had more associations and made better progress in locating details. Subjects from the second group Of 12 year olds showed little tendency to add imaginative detail. As a group they showed more mental activity than the first group. There were more associations and more correct reasons for statements in this group than in the previous group. This group benefitted from a wider range of ex- periential background and were better able to deal with the strange and unusual. The grammar school group differed from the two previous samples in two rather striking ways. The first was extreme caution exercised by the subjects in solving nonsense pictures. The second fundamental difference was the very close examination of each picture at the end Of 49 the experiment in contrast to lack of interest shown by the two previous groups. -Grammar school subjects made corrections and sometimes decisively refused suggestions from the examiner. The children Of this group showed re- markably advanced mental powers over subjects from other groups. The mental processes utilized by this group closely approximated those of adults. The author concluded the article by indicating that perception begins with an immediate interpretation of the Objects and that this process is strikingly uniform in different subjects. It is followed by an analysis of the Object and in this very marked individual differences emerged. This article by Smith raises the interesting question as to whether or not active, intelligent, analyt- ical individuals would tend to be more perceptive visually than passive, less intelligent individuals. Gibson1 utilized a tachistosc0pic procedure in order to investigate the ways in which reproductions are inexact COpies Of the original presented figures. Favor- able conditions for accurate perception and accurate retention were limited so that correct reproductions were not the rule. Two series of fairly simple geometric forms 1James J. Gibson, "The Reproduction of Visually Perceived Forms," JQurnal of Experimental Psychology, VOlume 12, NO. 1 (February, 1929), pp. 1-39. 50 were utilized as stimulus materials. Series A figures consisted of 14 forms classed as the "straight" series since the forms were made up of straight lines. Series B also consisted Of 14 figures classed as the "curved" series since the figures were made up of curved lines. In both Series A and Series B seven of the 14 figures had from two to four breaks or gaps in the contour. The stimulus materials were exposed in a Ranschburg Memory Apparatus. The period Of exposure for each figure was two seconds. Twenty Observers were utilized as sub- jects. Series A and Series B figures were exposed twice to each subject. Approximately 4000 reproductions were analyzed. The following results were reported verbatim by the author: 1. A reproduction Of a visually perceived form is frequently changed in the direction Of a familiar Object if the object has previously been associated with the figure in consciousness. 2. A change in a reproduction is Often conditioned by cues from a verbal analysis which was made of the form during perception. 3. A reproduction of one figure is frequently changed in the direction of another figure if the two figures have been previously associated in con- sciousness. 4.. Gaps or breaks in the contour Of a figure are either partially or wholly closed up in the repro- duction, or else the figure falls apart into separate units. 5. Curved lines are much more apt to be reproduced as straight lines than the reverse. 51 6. The changes Observed in these eXperiments have not been interpreted as evidence for a single law determining the changes in configurations but rather as evidence for the existence Of perceptual habits which have arisen in the individual during experience. In general, the nature of a change found in the reproduction depends upon the manner in which the figure was apprehended.l It might be inferred from this research that part of the perceptive process is analytic (figures with broken contours might fall apart into separate units) or synthetic (gaps and breaks in the contour are perceived and filled- in in the reproductions) depending on the particular subject. It seems feasible that one could classify analytic and synthetic perceivers utilizing this type of task. G. L. Freeman2 conducted a series of investigations based on his acceptance Of the common Observation that per- ception is a process with a beginning, course, and end. The problem investigated was this integral Operation in the perception of Objects. Two types of stimuli were. utilized: Nonsense Forms (Inkblots) and Familiar Forms. In the experiment utilizing Nonsense Forms as stimuli, subjects participated in five series of exposures to the forms. In the first series the subjects were in- structed to attach meaning to the inkblots and to give a lIbid., p. 39. 2G. L. Freeman, "An EXperimental Study of the Per- ception Of Objects," Journal of Experimental Psychology, 52 complete account Of the eXperience of arriving at the meaning. The second series was like the first with the exception that the inkblots were projected tachistosc0p— ically for only one second. In the third series twenty stimuli from the first series were utilized. A list of the meanings assigned to these blots, together with reports from the subjects, enabled the experimenter to Obtain Ob- ject meaning from a given subject entirely without verbal suggestion. In the fourth series the object was uncovered in degrees and the subject reported the first instant Ob- ject meaning was realized. In the fifth series the subject was instructed to reSpond to tachistosc0pic presentations of 20 inkblots. The subject was not to attempt to attach meaning to the forms. The purpose of this series was tO determine the conditions for the arousal of the initial apprehension of visual extent in the perception of an ink- blot as an Object. Two series of designs were utilized in the eXperi- ment which involved Familiar Forms. Eight familiar Objects drawn in solid black were projected in an upright position and in a tilted position. In each presentation the subject was instructed to attach meaning to the Objects. In the second series 29 silhouette outlines of prehistoric tools and unfamiliar instruments were exposed tachistoscopically for intervals of 0.5 msec. The subject was instructed to apprehend whatever meaning the forms might hold. Freeman 53 concluded that tachistosc0pic presentation resulted in the subjects realizing both Familiar and Nonsense Forms as "things" which were not familiar. In other words, the subject was in no way sure of the object character of the stimulus. Bridgenl conducted a research investigation which purported to make a qualitative tachistosc0pic study of visual perception giving particular note to changes Observed in a simple ink drawing as it is differentiated from a homo- geneous field. The experiment was divided into four parts. In Part I simple geometric figures were shown to 60 subjects at exposure times Of 6, 10, 20, 40, and 200 sigma. Sub- jects were asked to reproduce exactly what they saw and to describe verbally any changes in the figures between the third presentation and the last preSentation. Sixteen Observers were utilized in Part II of the experiment. Similar stimulus cards and technique were employed in order to learn whether the changes Observed in Part I were due to peculiarities of the stimulus cards or to some general principle. The results of the first part of the experiment indicated that an exposure time in excess of one-fifth of 1Robert L. Bridgen, "A TachistOSCOpic Study of the Differentiation of Perception," Journal of Experimental Psychology, Volume 44 (1933), pp. 153-166. 54 a second was necessary in order to obtain a complete record Of perceptual evolution. In Part III 21 subjects viewed 32 stimulus cards in order that the experimenter might further trace perceptual evolution. Four Of the stimulus cards (one containing six numbers, one having six letters, and two having simple line drawings) were eXposed at each Of eight exposure times: 6, 40, 200 Sigma, 1/2, 1, 2, 3, and 4 seconds. In the fourth part of the experiment subjects viewed the stimulus materials used in Part III for as long as they desired in order to obtain a perfect reproduction of these materials. Bridgen concluded that perception of an object occurs in stages. The first stage in perception involved a vague "thereness." Perception involved the differentia— tion of a homogeneous field and the parts of an object emerged as unified and patterned. In the differentiation continuum indicated by subject reproductions there are three distinct phases: (1) A period of gross differentia- tion ending at approximately 1/100 of a second; (2) a period of less accurate and stable perception terminating between 1/5 of a second and 2 seconds; and (3) a period of highest differentiation reaching its maximum between four and 13 seconds for the stimuli employed in this eXperiment. The relative grouping or location of the stimulus figures is perceived before identification Of the object. In the 55 reproduction Of the perceived stimulus materials the following types of changes were noted: (1) simplification; (2) complication; (3) completion; (4) transposition; and (5) increased symmetry. Ninety-two percent of the subjects emphasized one or more parts of their reproductions at the expense Of other parts. Postman and Solomonl conducted an experiment to determine the effects of perceptual behavior of two vari- ables which were known tO have important systematic effects on retention: completion versus incompletion Of tasks and recency of exercise or use. The experimental procedure consisted of the performance of a series Of tasks and the determination of the recognition thresholds of the stimuli which constituted the tasks. Part 1: Completed and Incompleted Tasks Subjects were required to solve a series of 10 seven-letter anagrams constructed by scrambling the seven letters in random sequence. Words selected for anagrams were described as moderately familiar according to the Thorndike-Lorge frequency count. TO Obtain a series of tasks Of approximately equal difficulty, several alternative lL. Postman and R. Solomon, "Perceptual Sensitivity to Completed and Incompleted Tasks," Journal Of Personality, VOlume 18 (September, l949-June, 1950), pp. 347-357. 56 anagrams were constructed from each word and the experimental series was selected on the basis of approxi- mately equal times required for solution. The 18 subjects were instructed that they were to be given a test in problem solving, that they would solve the first anagram at the examiner's signal, that they were to raise their hands upon completion Of the task, and that they were to terminate work at the examiner's signal. The examiner's signal to terminate was given as soon as half of the sub- jects had raised their hands. In order to expedite the experiment, a time limit of five minutes was imposed on each solution. The situation was described as competitive, and it was anticipated that failure to complete a task would be interpreted as failure by a subject. For the group as a whole the experiment was designed SO that there would be 50% failures on any given task. The solutions of the anagrams were announced, and the subjects were required to write them down in order to equalize the recency of exposure to all words. Part II: Determination of RecognitiOn ThreSholds The ten stimulus words utilized in the first part of the experiment served as stimuli of the Second part. The words were placed on slides and were presented tach- istosc0pically. The subjects were tested in a group at the following exposure times: two eXposures at 1/100 sec., 57 five exposures at 1/75 sec., five exposures at 1/50 sec., five exposures at l/37.5 sec., two exposures at 1/25 sec., and one exposure at 1/10 sec. The procedure was repeated for each of the twenty slides with task and control stimuli arranged in random order. Subjects wrote down everything they saw or thought they saw. The average number of anagrams solved by subjects was 4.4. There was a statistically significant difference in recognition thresholds favoring task stimuli. The sig- nificant difference for task stimuli pointed to recency of exposure as a determinant of perceptual sensitivity to that stimulus. It was concluded that association of a stimulus word with success or failure is a significant determinant of subsequent perceptual sensitivity to stimuli representing that task. The direction of the difference varies from subject to subject. The results of this investigation point to the need for randomization of stimulus materials at each exposure duration when arriving at recognition thresholds in an effort to minimize the effects of recency Of prior eXposure. It seems that controlling the learning variable would re- sult in a more accurate assessment of subject's actual recognition threshold than if this variable were over- looked. 58 Howes and Solomonl explored the function which relates duration threshold to the relative frequency with which a word appears in the English language. The study sought to eXplore the relationship between word probability and duration threshold. Word frequency was defined accord- ing to Thorndike-Lorge frequency counts. Twenty subjects were selected for this research. The words were eXposed tachistoscopically at exposure durations ranging from 10 to 1000 msec. controlled to the nearest 10 msec. NO subject responded to a word correctly which was exposed for less than 30 msec. Four familiar words were utilized for practice and it was found that practice had an enormous effect on a subject's duration threshold. Two exposures were given at each duration. The data of the first eXperiment showed a strong inverse relationship between relative word frequency and duration threshold, e.g. words of high frequency require shorter durations for identification than low frequency of occurrence words. The authors stated that strong associations may have effects on duration thresholds. If one member of a pair Of synonyms occurs followed closely by the second member,the presence of the first member might feasibly 1D. H. Howes and R. L. Solomon, "Visual Duration Threshold as a Function of Word Probability," Journal of Experimental Psychology, Volume 41 (1951), pp. 401—410. 59 raise the probability of the second member and lower the threshold of the second member. Also the frequencies Of the Thorndike-Lorge counts were questioned. Thus, proce- dural modifications were introduced, and the assessment of visual duration thresholds was repeated. The results of the experiment were very similar to those obtained in the first exPeriment. Apparently, the uncontrolled variables Of the first experiment introduced no important error. However, the central tendency for thresholds in the second experiment were consistently higher than those of the first eXperiment for words of the same frequency of occurrence. This fundamental difference was attributed to the additional practice effects realized in the first part of the eXperiment since this endeavor utilized more stimulus materials than the second eXperiment. Words with average syllable durations Of less than 2.75 letters tended to have lower thresholds. Also, words with repetitive patterns of letters have lower duration thresholds than words lacking such patterns. In order to control for the practice variable across subject groups in research which involves a variety of per- ceptual tasks (in addition to determining recognition thresholds of words), the order of presentation of the various tasks should be randomized for each of the groups so that the practice effect tends to be deleted from the results. 6O Mishkin and Forgaysl designed a study to eXplore Hebb's contention that a particular perception depends on the action Of particular neural cells assembled slowly by stimulation of a specific receptor matrix. Separate parts of a receptor surface were thought to be trained. This might not apply to reading, however, Since the reader is persistently presented with the next word for recognition in the right field while he is engaged with a word in the central field. The purpose of the investigation, therefore, was to determine whether selective retinal training Operates in reading. Four basic experiments involving a total of 69 subjects were set up to evaluate the hypothesis. Essen- tially the eXperiments focused on such factors as fixation point and its effects on recognition Of words, recognition in the left and right visual fields (e.g. the Operation of unidirectional factors), recognition of the beginning versus the ending Of a word as an aid to perception of that word, and assessment of the extent of the region in which differential recognition occurs. The stimuli in all of the basic experiments were presented tachistosc0pically. The authors did not report the exposure duration, however. Mishkin and Forgays lM. Mishkin and D. Forgays, "Word Recognition as a Function Of Retinal Locus," Journal of Experimental Psychology, Volume 43 (1952), pp. 43-48. 61 concluded that exposures Of the same word in the left and right visual fields are not equivalent stimulus situations, that unidirectional factors could not account for differ- ential recognition, that the beginning of a word is not more essential than the ending for accurate perception Of that word, and that the farther a word is moved from a center fixation point the less is the recognition Of that word; however, the recognition drOp to the right is less than to the left. In conclusion, the results reported in this research supported the notion that reading trains the limited regions of the left hemiretina selectively. The experiments demonstrated that subjects recognized sig— nificantly more words placed in the right visual field confirming the notion of selective retinal training stemm- ing from reading. A particular perception depends on the excitation of particular nerve cells; therefore, these results are inconsistent with a theory of equipotentiality of vision. Since fixation point is an important determinant of single word recognition, one could certainly question the use of a specific fixation point in visual research which involves the presentation of multiple stimuli (several words, several forms, etc.). Fixation on the viewing area in general should result in more accurate recognition when multiple-stimuli are involved, since the effects of unidirectional factors are minimized. 62 Solomon and Postmanl conducted an investigation which had as its purpose to control experimentally rela- tive word frequencies and to assess the effect on recog- nition thresholds measured tachistosc0pically. It was hypothesized that eXperimental control of word frequency would allow for a more precise statement of the relation- ship between word frequency and recognition threshold. Pronounceable nonsense words served as stimuli. Frequency was controlled by requiring the subjects to read and pronounce different nonsense words with frequencies ranging from one to 25. Thirty undergraduate and graduate students served as subjects. Ten words were replicated from two to 25 times and 14 words appeared only once. These twenty four stimulus words were placed in a deck of 100 cards printed with pronounceable nonsense syllables. The ten "core" words were used as stimulus materials in the tachistosc0pic presentations. The other 14 words served as "padding" in the 100 card deck of syllables. In addition to the "core" syllables utilized, 10 English words were projected tachistosc0pically as well as nonsense words never before exposed to the subject. 1R. L. Solomon and L. Postman, "Frequency of Usage as a Determinant of Recognition Thresholds for Words," Journal of EXperimental Psychology, Volume 43 (January- June, 1952), pp. 195-201. 63 The results of this eXperiment showed that thresholds vary inversely with frequency Of prior usage. Thresholds were determined utilizing an ascending method of limits with duration thresholds calculated to the nearest .01 sec. The authors concluded that frequency of past usage is a determiner of response strength. As a criticism to the Howes and Solomon study pre- viously cited McGinnies, Comer, and Lacey1 indicated that these authors dismissed word length as having a bearing on the results. The design of this study allowed for evaluation of both word length and word frequency related to thresholds of recognition as measured by duration of eXposure necess- ary for veridical report. Twenty words were secured which met the criteria of frequency Of occurrence, e.g. 10, 100, 200, 300, and 400 per million. Thresholds of recognition for the stimulus words were Obtained by exposing each word first for a duration of .01 sec. and then for durations increased successively by .01 increments until the subject reported the word correctly. The results of this investi— gation clearly showed duration thresholds for neutrally toned words are a linear decreasing function of word 1E. McGinnies, P. B. Comer, and O. L. Lacey, "Visual Recognition Thresholds as a Function Of Word Length and Word Frequency," Journal of Experimental Psychology, Volume 44 (July-December, 1952), pp. 65—69. 64 frequency and a linear increasing function Of word length. The findings held true for words varying from 5 to 11 letters in length and from 10 to 400 occurrences per million in frequency. An increase in frequency lowers recognition threshold more for long words than for short words. An increase in word length, on the other hand, raises thresholds more strikingly for low-frequency words than for high-frequency words. King-Ellison and Jenkins1 conducted a research study dealing with durational thresholds as a function of word frequency. According to the authors, word frequency has been shown to be an important variable in determining the durational threshold for the recognition Of isolated words presented tachistosc0pically. This experimental de- sign was set up to determine whether the relationship was different under conditions different from those previously attempted. Ten experimental words were selected, the words being five letter paralogs. A pack of 100 cards, each bearing a paralog, was made up for every subject. In each pack, two Of the paralogs appeared 25 times. Two appeared ten times, two appeared five times, two appeared twice, and 1P. King-Ellison and J. J. Jenkins, "The Durational Threshold Of Visual Recognition as a Function Of Word- Frequency," American Journal Of Psychology, Volume 67 (1954), pp. 700-703. 65 two appeared once, making a total Of 10 words and 86 cards. Fourteen dummy cards were included to make a total pack of 100 cards. Fifteen undergraduate students served as subjects in this research. Tachistoscopic exposures of each word began at 30 msec. Successive exposures increased in steps of 10-20 msec. Up to 200 msec., in steps of 20—30 msec. up to 450 msec., and in steps of 50 msec. beyond that point. Threshold for each word was the point where the subject first correctly identified the word. A clear relationship was demonstrated between prior familiarity or frequency of words and their recognition time. More familiar or frequent words are recognized at shorter eXposure times across subjects. In another endeavor designed to assess the rela- tionship between recognition threshold and familiarity Baker and Feldmanl assessed the effect of familiarity on the visual recognition of nonsense words. More specifically, the relation Of luminance threshold to familiarity with nonsense words was investigated. Twelve undergraduate students served as subjects. Thresholds were measured following 1, 2, 10, or 25 1K. E. Baker and H. Feldman, "Threshold-Luminance for Recognition in Relation to Frequency of Prior Exposure," American Journal of Psychology, Volume 69 (1956), pp. 278- 280. 66 exposures to each nonsense word. Ten nonsense stimuli were employed in this study. The stimulus slides were projected for 0.2 sec. utilizing a tachistosc0pic arrange- ment. To control range of luminance, the voltage across the projector lamp was reduced and a glass daylight filter was mounted in front of the lens. Polaroid discs placed in front of the filter and lens were utilized finally to control luminance level. Luminance level was increased in approximately 0.005 log-unit steps in succeeding trials. The results of this investigation showed that threshold luminance is a decreasing function of the frequency of prior exposure. The authors stated that luminance level required for correct recognition is an acceptable type of measurement to make in perceptual eXperiments. Since illumination level has been shown to be re— lated to recognition threshold, it follows that visual perception studies should be designed to control for this variable lest this affect the results Obtained on differ- ent subjects at different times. Specifically, increasing or decreasing illumination level would seem to have the effect of enhancing or decreasing visual performance across subjects. The purpose of an investigation by Mooneyl was to utilize four experimental techniques in an attempt to lCraig Mooney, "Closure as Affected by Viewing Time and Multiple Visual Fixations," Canadian Journal of Psychol- ogy, Volume 11 (1957), pp. 21-28. 67 discover whether the factors of viewing time and multiple fixations significantly affect closure. In short, the experimental method involved exposing subjects to 50 in- complete black and white drawings based only on highlights or shadows of strongly lighted photographs of the heads and faces Of miscellaneous persons. These closure faces were projected to the subjects in three ways: (1) for direct inspection; (2) for tachistosc0pic inspection per- mitting only one visual fixation; and (3) for lengthy observation permitting only one visual fixation under a condition of negative after images (light flickering at 3 cycles/sec.). This research was divided into four basic eXperiments. Twenty-seven subjects were utilized in Experiment I which was designed to ascertain whether or not successive visual fixations are essentially contributory to perception of the Closure Faces. The stimuli were presented under the above three conditions. Items consisted of 36 Closure Faces and 18 false ones; subjects were instructed that all the items they would be viewing were faces. The purpose Of EXperiment II was to assess percep- tion of the Closure Faces as a function of tachistosc0pic exposure and the number of eXposures. Twenty seven under— graduate students served as subjects. The subjects were tested with different groups of items at three tachisto- sc0pic speeds: 1/8 sec., 1/16 sec., and 1/24 sec. An 68 item was exposed once at a selected speed. If not perceived, it was exposed twice in succession; if still not perceived, it was shown three times in succession. Items consisted of 36 Closure Faces sorted randomly into three groups of 12 each. Twelve undergraduate students served as subjects in EXperiment III which was designed to assess perception of Closure Faces as a function of central and peripheral tachistosc0pic presentation and the number of exposures. Items were 32 Closure Faces randomly sorted into two groups of 16 items. The subjects were tested with two groups Of items under two conditions. In one condition the screen was dark except for a small dot of light projected on the center of the space to be occupied subsequently by the test item. The dot blinked continuously between exposures. In the second condition there were four such dots blinking simultaneously in a 12 by 16 inch rectangular pattern aligned with the four corners of the forthcoming test item. For central and peripheral presentation the subject anti- cipated a single eXposure Of the test item after four blinks Of the dot or dots, and reappearance of the same item for a second, third, and fourth time with four dots interposed each time. In Experiment IV eight subjects were utilized to ascertain whether closure performance was essentially dependent on the number of exposures. Central tachistosc0pic 69 presentation, previously described, was employed with a design similar to Experiment III and with the same materials. In summary the author concluded the following: With ample time allowed the perceptual performance was equally effective whether multiple visual fixations were permitted or Observation was limited to a Single fixed point of regard. With Observation limited to a single, fixed point of regard, the perceptual perform— ance was equally effective whether ample time was afforded or but a fraction of a second. When only brief Observations were permitted the perceptual per— formance was not improved by a succession of these; nor did it matter whether fixation points were pre- scribed or not, or whether fixations were central or peripheral. The method Of direct inspection was superior to the other methods of viewing in only one respect: significantly fewer Of the false items were mistakenly seen.1 In contrast to the study by Mishkin and Forgays (previously cited) Mooney found that prescribing fixation points had no effect on perceptual performance. This tends to support the present writer's contention that prescribed fixation points in visual perception studies serve little useful function and may, in some instances, deter percep- tual performance where multiple stimuli are employed. According to Taylor,2 one of the variables con- sistently shown to be related to the visual duration 1Ibid., p. 26. 2J. Taylor, "Meaning, Frequency, and Visual Dura- tion Threshold," Journal of Experimental Psychology, Volume 55 (January-June, 1958), pp. 329-334. 70 threshold of verbal material was the familiarity of the stimuli employed. In this study an attempt was made to equalize frequency Of prior exposure Of the experimental materials and to vary meaningfulness by experimental mani— pulation. Basically this was accomplished by showing two groups of Ss a list of nonsense syllables an equal number of times. One group studied only the syllables and the other saw each syllable accompanied by a picture Of a common, familiar object which was designated as its "meaning." Assuming that the latter procedure is adequate to instill some meaning into the nonsense syllables, a comparison of the recognition thresholds of the two groups for the experimental materials should give some indication as to the role of this variable. Six groups of students (20 in each group) drawn from psychology classes served as subjects for this in- vestigation. All subjects were told that the study was part of a larger eXperiment investigating methods Of learning foreign languages and that they would be studying "non-English" words. All subjects were told that they would be eXpected to know and remember the words they had studied. In addition, subjects who viewed syllables coupled with a meaningful picture were told that they would be expected to know the meaning of the syllable picture. Each of the five flash cards was eXposed for approximately two seconds. This procedure was repeated until the set of cards had been shown 15 times. The treatment Of the groups lIbid., p. 329. 71 varied only in the cards utilized, the frequency groups seeing only the syllables and the meaning groups the syllables and the picture associated with the syllable. TO evaluate duration threshold, each syllable was exposed first at .01 sec. and the time was increased in .005 sec. steps until the syllable was correctly identified. The subjects were encouraged to guess on each exposure. Immediately after determining duration thresholds, subjects were tested for their memory of the syllables to which they had been previously exposed. The F ratio between control syllables and syllables to which the subjects had been previously exposed was statistically significant. It was found that previous eXposure to syllables lowered duration thresholds (duration thresholds were better). The F for association values of the stimulus materials was insignificant. Meaning in the sense of degree of association value Of the nonsense materials was said to have contributed little to threshold. Calvin, 33. 31.1 conducted four basic experiments designed to test the hypotheses of a previous research, i.e. that there is a relationship between level of percep- tual organization and intelligence. It was hypothesized 1A. D. Calvin, S. Turrell, R. E. Schulz, and R. G. Koons, "The Effect of Exposure Time on the Relation Between Perceptual Organization and Intelligence," American Journal of Psychology, Volume 71 (1958), pp. 573-577. 72 that subjects who reached a higher level of perceptual organization on an early trial and maintain it would have higher vocabulary scores than subjects who failed to attain a high level of perceptual organization on early trials. In Experimental I forty subjects were told that they would see two symbols, one correct (an actual copy of horizontal and vertical groupings) and one incorrect (a mirror image Of the first). They were to determine the correct symbol and reproduce both. Each trial involved presentation of one or the other for 0.1 sec. This proce— dure continued for 16 trials. Comparing the results with WAIS Vocabulary Scores, no relationship could be shown between high level of perceptual organization on an early trial and high vocabulary scores. Experiment II was designed to test the influence of time on perceptual organization. Perceptual organiza- tion results were then cOmpared to WAIS Vocabulary scores. On the basis Of Vocabulary scores, 45 subjects were assigned to three stimulus groups with exposure durations Of 0.06 sec., 0.12 sec., and 0.24 sec. Disregarding ex- posure time, high perceptual organization subjects showed higher Vocabulary scores than low perceptual organization subjects. When exposure time was included subjects with low Vocabulary scores did not attain high levels of percep- tual organization, contrary to expectation. 73 In Experiment III 37 students found their individual thresholds for achieving high level Of percep- tual organization. These results were compared to intelli- gence scores. Nonsense syllables and dot patterns were used as stimuli. Each subject viewed the stimuli at 0.01 sec., then 0.02 sec., increasing in steps until high level Of perceptual organization was reported or until presenta- tions were terminated at 0.16 sec. Nonsense syllables of six-letters were then exposed similarly. The results showed a negative relationship between thresholds for dot patterns and nonsense syllables and subject Vocabulary scores. Experiment IV was conducted in order to determine what would happen if the subjects were given unlimited time to make their reproductions. Twenty-six undergraduate students served as subjects. The procedure was identical to Experiment II except that the subjects were given un- limited time to form their reproductions. Of the 26 subjects 20 reached the higher level Of perceptual organi- zation. However, six subjects failed to reach this level. These findings indicated that even though exposure time, is a factor in perceptual organization, dull subjects do not fail for lack Of time alone. Some other pervasive factor appeared to be Operating. Cumulatively, the results of this study indicate that intelligence (as measured by'WAIS Vocabulary) is 74 related to level of perceptual organization. If lipreading can be viewed as a visual perception task (the present writer's contention), these results raise the question of why little if any relationship has been established eXperi- mentally between lipreading ability and intelligence as measured by several instruments. Spielberger and Denny1 conducted an investigation in which the purpose was to evaluate the effects of verbal ability and word frequency on visual recognition thresholds. It was assumed that subjects with high verbal ability would be more familiar with words which occur with low frequency in word counts than would be subjects with low verbal ability. Thirty-two male students, who scored in the upper and lower 20% of the distribution of scores on the Linguistic scale of the American Council on Education Psychological Examination for College Freshman (ACE), were utilized as subjects in this study. Sixteen subjects with ACE raw scores Of 62 or below were designated as the Low Verbal Ability; a second group with scores of 83 or above were designated as the High Verbal Ability group. All of the eXperimental words in the study contained nine letters. Twelve words were selected, four at each level 1Charles D. Spielberger and J. Peter Denny, "Visual Recognition Thresholds as a Function of Verbal Ability and Word Frequency," Journal Of Experimental Psychology, Volume 65 (January-June, 1963), pp. 597:602. 75 of word frequency (Low, Moderate, High Frequency). To insure that the words were homogeneous at each frequency level, a narrowly defined frequency range was utilized. Each subject was tested individually utilizing a tachisto- SCOpe. Each word was initially exposed at .01 sec. The duration was then increased in .01 sec. steps with five presentations at each exposure time until the subject correctly responded to the stimulus. The results of this investigation Showed that word recognition thresholds were inversely related to the frequency of occurrence of words in the Thorndike—Lorge word counts. Subjects of high verbal ability required fewer exposure times to recognize low frequency words than did subjects Of low verbal ability. The finding suggested to the authors that high ability subjects were more familiar with low frequency words than were low ability subjects. It was concluded that differences in verbal ability reflect both idiosyncratic frequency of prior usage of low fre— quency words and level of perceptual organization and that these, in turn, contribute to the determination of recogni- tion thresholds. As in the previous study by Calvin, a relationship has been established between high verbal ability and visual perception. It might be speculated, based on the contention of this writer relative to the Calvin study, that high verbal ability subjects would score significantly 76 higher on a lipreading task than low verbal ability subjects if, in fact, lipreading is a Visual perception process. Piercel conducted an eXperiment which attempted to explore a number of sources of artifact in the study of tachistosc0pic word thresholds. It was anticipated that (l) differences in threshold between high and low frequency words could be shown with a discrimination method (same- different); (2) when words were tachistosc0pically pre- sented in pairs, subjects would look at one and, then if the time allowed, at the other and this would result in lower thresholds for identification Of either member than for discrimination; (3) the forced-response method would produce lower thresholds for word identification than would free response; (4) reducing the size of the stimulus pOpulation by giving subjects a list Of the words to be shown would result in reduced identification more than would free response; (5) reducing the Size of the stimulus population by giving subjects a list of the words to be shown would result in reduced identification thresholds; and (6) presenting a given word repeatedly at gradually increasing tachistosc0pic durations would, by providing a series Of pertinent fragmentary impressions, result in 1Jan Pierce, "Some Sources Of Artifact in Studies of the TachistOSCOpic Perception of Words," Journal of Experimental Psychology, Volume 66, NO. 4 (October, 1963), pp. 363-370. 77 lower thresholds Of identification than would occur if groups of words were randomly presented at each exposure speed. Two six member sets of five-letter words were chosen randomly from Thorndike-Lorge. The words were selected as impressionistically neutral, not similar in structure to previously selected words; and they had no greater than 400 or less than 10 per million frequency of occurrence. Within both of the six word sets, each low frequency word was paired with a high frequency word making three pairs of words per set. The words were presented in a mirror tachistOSCOpe. The subjects were 104 undergraduate males divided into four experimental groups. Group I (24 55) was shown all 12 words one at a time tachistosc0pically, and each word was exposed repeatedly at gradually longer durations. NO word lists were available to these subjects. Group II (20 Ss) differed from Group I only in the manner in which the words were presented. At a given exposure speed all of the words of a particular set were shown one after the other in random order. The 20 Ss of Group III differed from Group II only in that an alphabetical list Of the words in each set was given to the subject before the word set in question was presented. Group IV (40 Ss) was shown the words tachistosc0pically in pairs with four combinations for each pair of words. The Ss were required to identify 78 both words of the combination for one series of presentations. In another series the Ss were required to tell whether the words were same or different. Presenta- tion was random, and at each eXposure speed the 12 word combinations were exposed a total of two times. The forced choice method was utilized, and SS were provided with alpha- betical lists of the words they would be viewing. The following results were obtained in the research: Although there was no difference between high and low fre- quency words in the eXposure speed at which the initial letter was correctly identified, differences appeared in the speed of first identification for the entire word. It was hypothesized that this occurred because subjects guess frequent rather than infrequent words, fill in fragmentary tachistosc0pic percepts, and so tend to be correct earlier in naming frequent words. When subjects were given a list, high and low frequency word differences disappeared since fragmentary percepts (the first letter) were sufficient to enable subjects to identify a word. Threshold differences between high and low frequency words in the absence Of a word list were shown even for the free response method (Ss were told not to respond unless they were certain). Subjects were not able to discriminate between two words in a spatial pair at a faster eXposure speed than is re- quired for identification. Instead Of approaching the word pair as a unit, subjects apparently look first at one of 79 the words and then, if the time allows, at the other member. At some eXposure speeds they are able to identify one word without getting enough information about the other to make a nonchance same-different response. This suggested that when groups of stimuli are simultaneously presented, tasks involv1ng discrimination among the stimuli probably require longer tachistosc0pic eXposure durations than do identifica— tion tasks. In short, the effects of unidirectional factors Operate to retard the accurate, rapid, visual perception of multiple stimuli. When no list of words was available, forcing sub— jects to respond had no consistent effect upon accuracy of identification. However, when subjects had a word list, the forced choice method resulted in increased accuracy. It appears that the forced response is superior only when it can lead subjects to use additional available informa- tion in their judgments. This finding implied that sub— jects set some arbitrary personal standard for when they will report a word. Reducing the size Of the stimulus pOpulation with a word list provides additional pertinent information but only when subjects are forced to make use Of it. In summary, frequency affected identification thresholds only when subjects had no word list. Identifi- cation Of the first letter of the words showed no frequency effects. Identification thresholds were lower than dis- crimination thresholds. The forced-response method lowered 80 identification thresholds for subjects who had lists. It can be inferred from this that the visual perception task becomes increasingly easier as the stimulus field is re- duced. Tulving and Gold1 reported that the purpose of their investigation was to evaluate the hypothesis that the amount of information that a subject needs from the tachisto- scopically presented stimulus varies inversely with the amount Of available contextually relevant information. It was discussed that the probability of correct response increased monotonically with exposure duration expressing the direct relation between amount of stimulus information available from the tachistosc0pic exposure and the duration Of the exposure, but the amount of information available is relatively independent of the amount of inform- ation contained in the stimulus. Ten female undergraduate students served as subjects for three separate experiments. Median age of the subjects was 20 years, and no subject had any previous experience as a subject or examiner in a psychology eXperiment. lEndel Tulving and Cecille Gold, "Stimulus Informa- tion and Contextual Information as Determinants Of Tach- istOSCOpic Recognition of Words," Journal of EXperimental Psychology, Volume 66, NO. 4 (Octobér, 1963), pp. 319:327. 81 In Experiment I thresholds for target words were determined under ten experimental conditions, provided by orthogonal combinations of five lengths (0, l, 2, 4, and 8 words) and two levels of congruity (congruous and incon- gruous) of context. Each Of the 10 target words was used in construction of a nine-word sentence with the target word as the final word of the sentence. Contexts of lengths 4, 2, and l were constructed by omitting the first four, first six, or f1rst seven words from each eight-word context. Condition of length 0 was absence of any context. Incon- gruous contexts of various lengths for a given target word consisted of congruous contexts of other target words. The results of this eXperiment clearly showed that increas- ing the length of congruous context facilitates tachisto— scopic identification of words, whereas increasing the length of incongruous context interferes with it. This points to the need for contextually relevant words in the rapid visual perception of sentences. EXperiment II was designed to quantify the degree Of congruity between each context and its designated target word, thus further analyzing the relation between congruity and visual duration threshold. Also, this portion of the investigation sought to determine the constraining power of various individual contexts, e.g. while it is clear that the constraining power Of context varies with length, the relation may be different for different contexts. 82 One thousand undergraduate students enrolled in psychology classes at the University of Toronto served as subjects in this eXperiment. In this experiment "I" was taken to be the informa- tion content of a given context and was calculated mathe- matically. The degree of congruity between context and target word, designated as "C," was given by the relative frequency of responses corresponding to the target word for each context. Each of the 50 contexts used in Experiment I (5 lengths times 10 sentences) followed by a blank space was mimeographed on a small slip of paper. The results of this investigation showed that mean "I" increases monotonically with length of context. The relation between length of context and "I" for individual contexts varied greatly among contexts. The mean "C" increased monotonically with length Of context. In EXperiment III the 20 contexts at lengths 4 and 8 and their congruous target words used in Experiment I constituted the materials. Fifty female students enrolled in the University of Toronto served as subjects. None of the subjects had participated in Experiments I or II. The subjects were divided randomly into two equal groups. Visual duration thresholds for target words in presence of four word context were determined for Group I and for eight word contexts in Group II. All other experimental 83 conditions were identical to those in EXperiment I. The correlation between mean visual duration threshold and "C" is negative and highly significant for both sets of con— texts. Other correlations are small and non-significant. It appears that "C" accounts for a large proportion of variance in mean visual duration threshold while "I" does not covary with visual duration threshold. Closure, Incomplete Stimuli, Visual Perception Studies In an early investigation, Gaskilll assessed the effect of subliminal stimulation upon closure. The follow— ing materials are taken from the Psychological Bulletin. Roy F. Street's Gestalt Completion Test set of pictures was presented, in slide form, to 180 univers- ity undergraduate students. Another set of slides was made containing lines which filled in and completed the original pictures. Thus, when one original comple- tion picture and its complement slide were shown on a Bausch and Lomb dual projector at the same time, the picture was seen as a whole. The intensity Of the filled in picture was lowered by means of an iris diaphragm to a point just below the threshold of the Operator. The original completion pictures and their complementary slides were shown to 100 subjects. A control group of 80 subjects was shown the completion pictures only. Comparing the data of the test group with the control group it was found, 1. Six of the pictures were correctly perceived by practically 100 per cent of both groups. 2. The test group Showed a greater percentage (4 per cent to 20 per cent of the total group) of correct perception in Six of the remaining pictures. In. D. Gaskill, "The Effect of Subliminal Stimula- tion upon Closure in Perception," Psychological Bulletin, Volume 30 (1933): pp. 592-593. 84 3. The control group showed a greater percentage of correct perception in one picture. 4. The differences between the test and control groups were greater for the more difficult pictures. 5. Men tended to be better able than women to perceive the pictures correctly. 6. Individual differences were great. These experiments are preliminary and have motivated a further individual study. Hollingsworthl explored the premise that words are identified as wholes or as forms about as easily as are their component letters. Even though individual letters are not discerned, the total form may carry meaning. It was hypothesized that words could be constructed from letters more readily if the letters were presented in a mixed up order that did not in itself constitute a word. According to the author, "Thus, it ought to be easier to construct the word 'intellectual' from the letters 'alin- letluetc' than from the letters 'all in lettuce' in spite of the fact that the letters are identical in the two "2 cases. The author utilized the names Of 50 familiar animals and prepared two forms Of a test. In one form (A) the letters were arranged in a manner so that they formed no word at all, and in the second form (B) the letters were 1H. L. Hollingsworth, "The Conditions of Verbal Configuration," Journal Of Experimental Psychology, Volume 18, NO. 3 (June, 1935), PP. 299-306. 2Ibid., pp. 299-300. 85 disarranged in such a way that they formed words or word pairs but not the names of animals. From these two forms of the test, Form C and Form D were constructed. Each con- sisted of the fifty whole names, half from Form A and half from Form B, in regular alteration. Thus, in Form C the following order was utilized: lpae Odt (Tadpole) storey (oyster) gpoerh psrsa (grasshopper) rag bed (badger) In Form D the word appearing in one way in Form C was shown in the Opposite fashion with the order rotated. The scores from this test conducted with 150 sub- jects were compared with the same subject's scores on the Alpha Test. There was no significant relationship between Alpha scores and the number of words built by the subjects. Those scoring high in Alpha appeared to build no more words than those with low scores. For Form C and Form D more words were built from letters that did not already consti- tute a word configuration. However, on a follow-up study the opposite was found. It was concluded that the experi- menter was unable to show that the word, as a configuration, exercised any constraining influence over the letters which composed it. Another conclusion which was drawn was set down by the author in the following manner: lIbid., 305—306. 86 Parts Of words may have the same effectiveness as whole words, this being only the familiar law of cue reduction. The "shape" of the word, certain letters of the word, etc., may lead to writing or speaking or other activity just as effectively as the whole would if it were there. . . . Therefore, when parts of words are exposed in a tachistoscope the subject, as is to be expected, reports a whole word. This clearly indicates that the rapid visual per- ception of fleeting verbal stimuli requires a certain "filling in" process on the part Of the subject. Schiller and Hartmann2 conducted a study which Operated out of the following premise. A fractured stick, an irregularly broken dish, a torn dollar bill, and similar concrete situations all appear to evoke an active disposition of various de- grees of urgency or intensity to restore the original unity or wholeness which these separated pieces imply. The organism seems to experience an "appeal to do something" with such simple fragmented Objects.‘ The design attempted to deal systematically with the problem Of using manipulative objects. This investiga— tion followed the procedure of asking subjects to rearrange tri-dimensional things by merely changing their position relative to each other without adding, eliminating, or altering physically the component parts of the pattern. lIbid., pp. 305-306. 2P. H. Schiller and G. W. Hartmann, "Manipulative Completion of Bisected Geometrical Figures," American Journal of Psychology, Volume 64 (1951), pp. 238-246. 87 The experiment was designed to determine the frequency of completion Of these geometrical figures by a group of normal, adult, educated subjects and to test the influence Of the variables mentioned on the final structure produced. Fifty graduate students were given a series Of 75 two—part patterns which they were to construct from the available parts (in this case all Of the parts). Each pattern was individually presented for about 3 sec. by means of a horizontally rotating table of 20 inch diameter. Subjects were also instructed to act on their first impulse. The effects of presenting the parts in parallel, perpendicular, or symmetrical orientation were calculated. The 75 patterns were matched in the sense of closure by most of the subjects. Subjects assembled 87.6% of the patterns. Regarding form, there were no startling differences among the shapes utilized. The circle yielded the maximal closure mean. Irregular or toothed cuts composed of both straights and curves presented the strongest appeal to restoration. Simple curve cuts exert almost as strong appeal to reunion. Plain straight dividing lines display the least effect in this regard. Unequal parts induce closure more than do parts of equal size. The bigger mass remains unmoved while the smaller mass is pushed toward it. There was no evidence that mutual spatial orientation Of the two parts, e.g. ordered versus non—ordered, appreciably 88 determined the outcome of the closure. The results of the study clearly showed that the subjects sought to recon- struct simple structure according to esthetic rather than bizarre patterns. The facts Of the study are as follows: some of the subjects referred to the figure as a whole while others referred to elements or details of the figures. Symmetry and esthetic values suggested that the "good Gestalt" was preferred by most subjects. Moving the smaller part to the larger suggested a principle of least effort on the part of the subjects. As in the study previously cited by Gibson, it would appear that closure is affected by both analytic and synthetic individuals. On the one hand, some subjects chose to rearrange tri-dimensional figures after arriving at a notion Of the whole, whereas others tended to be pre- occupied with the individual pieces which constituted the whole. Perception and Aural Rehabilitation Studies Myklebust and Bruttenl conducted an extensive in- vestigation Of certain aspects Of visual perception in deaf 1Helmer Myklebust and Milton Brutten, "Study Of the Visual Perception of Deaf Children," Acta Oto-Laryngo- logica Supplementum, 105 (1953), pp. 1—122. 89 children. The study was based on the conviction that alterations in visual perception response might accompany deafness. Specifically related'to the present investiga- tion Of the writer, a portion of the Myklebust-Brutten study explored responses of deaf and normal hearing children to stimuli which were presented tachistosc0pically. The results of that portion of the study are reported here. Fifty-five students with a mean CA of nine years five months, enrolled in a state residential school for the deaf, served as subjects for the eXperimental group. In order to classify as a subject, the student had to satisfy the following criteria: 1. Chronological age between eight and 11 years. 2. Subjects had to fall in a normal range of intellec- tual ability. 3.- Subjects had to be within normal limits in peri- pheral vision; visual acuity, fusion, vertical and lateral balance had to be normal. Thirty-three males and 22 females constituted this experi- mental group. The eXperimental group subjects were matched with 55 normal hearing children selected from an orphanage population. The following matching criteria were employed: For each deaf child a hearing child was found whose chronological age was within six months Of his, plus or minus, and whose intelligence quotient was within five points plus or minus. As far as possible the deaf and hearing samples were matched for sex. Thirty-two males and 23 females consti- tuted the control group Of normal hearing children. 90 In addition to assessing Marble Board performance and the GOOdenough Draw—A-Man Test, a battery Of perceptual tests was presented to the subject by means Of a tachisto- scOpic eXposure. According to the authors, it was the Opinion of many workers in the paramedical sciences that tachistosc0pic exposure enhanced the force of internal organizing forces and reduced the strength Of external determinants. The tachistOSCOpe utilized in the investigation allowed for exposure times Of one sec., 1/2 sec., 1/5 sec., 1/10 sec., 1/25 sec., 1/50 sec., and 1/1000 sec. The stimulus materials included in the tachistosc0pic battery were prepared in the form of slides. The following per- ceptual tests were evaluated. The Figure-Ground Test According to the authors, figure-ground organiza- tion is primary to perceptual dynamics. The subjective experience Of form is contingent upon the differentiation Of the stimulus situation into a salient figure and a recessive ground. The Figure-Ground Test employed in the investigation was a modification of a similar technique utilized by Werner and Strauss to assess figure-ground disturbance manifested by brain-injured children. The original items consisted Of simple line drawings imbedded in structured, homogeneous backgrounds. The line drawings 91 were of everyday common Objects. Werner and Strauss projected these drawings tachistosc0pically. In the Myklebust-Brutten study the stimulus pictures consisted of ten drawings of figures imbedded in homogeneous back- grounds. The ten stimulus materials were divided into two sets of five each, one set consisting Of everyday common Objects and the second set composed Of simple geometric patterns. The stimuli were projected tachistosc0pically for l/lO sec. For each stimulus picture a multiple choice plate was prepared consisting of four choices: (1) original foreground only (OF response); (2) original foreground with new background (OFNB response); (3) original back- ground with no foreground (OB); and (4) original back- ground with new foreground (OBNF). A preparatory stimulus picture was exposed on the screen for 1/10 sec., and the four possible choices corresponding to this picture were placed before the sub- ject. The control group subjects were instructed "Show me which one you saw." With the experimental group of deaf subjects the same procedure was carried out with the exception that the procedure was pantomimed in its entirety. The Perseveration Test According to Myklebust and Brutten, perception in the normal person adapts readily to new Situations. On the other hand, lack of perceptual variability and 92 adaptability has been previously demonstrated in mental defectives, psychotics, and the brain-injured. This type of behavior has been classified as rigidity, stereotype, and perseveration. The authors indicated that persevera- tion may take the form Of persistent repetition of an activity or the continuation Of certain kinds of behavior beyond the time when this behavior is fitting and appro- priate. The test materials utilized in this investigation consisted of the following: 1. An ambiguous vase-profile picture. It was so structured that either the vase or the profiles appeared as foreground. Reportedly, the normal person perceives this picture in an unstable and fluctuating manner. 2. Three replicas Of the ambiguous picture in which the vase aSpect is fortified in ascending degrees. Vase l enhances the vase somewhat with a consequent diminution in the ability of the profiles to assert themselves as foreground. Vase 2 and Vase 3 fort- ify the vase aspect even more. 3. Three replicas of the ambiguous picture which en- hance the profiles aspect in an ascending fashion. These were termed Profiles 1, 2, and 3. As the profiles aspect is enhanced the vase aspect is attenuated. The stimulus pictures in this study were eXposed for a duration of l/25 sec., The ambiguous picture was the first eXposed. The subject was then given a response card (in the vase-profiles example the response card consisted Of a completed vase and completed profiles) and asked to point to the one he saw in the exposure. If the subject 93 responded by pointing to the vase, he was then shown the ascending profiles. If he pointed to the profiles, he was then shown the ascending vase replicas. For a normal per— ceiver, the presentation of contradictory stimuli will destroy the original percept. For subjects displaying perseveration the presentation of the profiles replicas (as an example) would not destroy the original percept of a vase. Control group subjects received verbal instruc- tions while the instructions to the experimental group were pantomimed. The Pattern Reproduction Test Pattern reproduction has been shown to be an important tool in the eXploration Of normal and patholog- ical perceptual processes. The tachistOSCOpe has been frequently employed as a method for controlling stimulus eXposure to subjects. In the Myklebust-Brutten study the stimulus materials consisted Of ten simple geometric patterns. Five were line patterns and five were dot patterns. The stimulus materials were presented at lengthening durations until the subject correctly ident- ified them. The first exposure of each pattern occurred at 1/100 sec., and subsequent exposure durations occurred in the following order: 1/50 sec., 1/25 sec., 1/10 sec., l/5 sec., 1/2 sec., and 1 sec. If the subject was unable to reproduce the form at one second the stimulus was 94 exposed for a longer duration and the subject copied it at his leisure. The instructions to draw what they had seen were given verbally to the control group subjects and were pantomimed to the experimental group subjects. The results of the Figure Ground Test showed that OF and OB responses occurred with relative rarity. Most subjects were aware that the stimulus pictures were com- posed Of both a foreground and a background and only rarely did they choose an alternative presenting one or the other only. OF and OFNB responses were combined under the cate— gory Foreground while OB and OBNF responses were classified as Background. The data indicated that deaf subjects gave more Background responses then Foreground responses contrary to the hearing group. Background responses suggested to the authors that either the foreground had relatively little power to command adequate appreciation Of its form and meaning or that, rarely, the ground entirely overpOwered the figure. The preceding data reported on the control-experimental groups were for the object series Of the Figure-Ground Test. Results from the design series showed the same trend; how- ever, these results were not statistically Significant. Myklebust and Brutten concluded that deafness disturbs normal figure-ground articulation which is required for disimbedding a figure in order that adequate recognition takes place. This ability was retarded or disturbed in deaf subjects. ‘It was hypothesized by the authors that this occurredYbecause the deaf experienced great difficulty in attaching meaning to such a stimuli. 95 Searching for differences between etiological groups among the deaf subjects, the data were submitted to statist- ical analysis, and it was determined that deafness did not impose equal impairments upon children regardless of etiology. The deaf pOpulation did not respond homogeneously to the Figure-Ground Test. For the Object series Of this test, congenitally deaf subjects did poorer than subjects who were not congenitally deaf. This did not hold true for the design series Of the same test. There were no sex differences in performance for either group which were statistically significant. Comparing GOOdenough Draw-A- Man scores with performance on the Figure-Ground Test showed that shear appreciation for the form and structure Of the human figure expressed on the GOOdenough raw scores was related to normal figure-ground articulation. The tendency was small but significant. In regard to chronological age, it was determined that foregroundness bore little relation to chronological age and mental ability for the experimental population. ' For the control group mental age and chronological age bore a more positive relationship to foregroundness. There was a tendency for foregroundness to be associated with Older age and with greater mental ability. The Pattern Reproduction Test emphasized the temporal factor in the organization of visual percepts. The Pattern Reproduction Test provided ten stimulus patterns, five Of 96 which were line patterns and five Of which were dot patterns. Most Of the experimental and control group sub- jects were able to reproduce accurately the first four line patterns upon initial presentation at l/lOO sec. It Was apparent that both groups responded homogeneously to these stimuli. There were no significant differences between the groups in performance on line patterns. Deaf— ness, in other words, did not seem to affect the temporal integration of Simple line patterns in recognizable form. There was, however, wide diversity between groups in re- Sponse to dot patterns. Subjects were separated into two groups, (1) those who perceived and accurately reproduced the patterns at 1/100 sec., and (2) those who required greater exposure time than 1/100 sec. For each of the dot patterns, the control subjects were more able to perceive the stimulus to 1/100 sec. than experimental subjects. This trend was consistent for all dot patterns. It was stated that deaf- ness posed a deterrent to the perception Of dot patterns at rapid eXposure durations. Deaf children required a Significantly greater duration of exposure for accurate apprehension of these patterns, and their responses were characterized by greater variability. Boys and girls did not differ Significantly in dot pattern performance in the control group. This trend held true for the eXperimental group; however, the variability 97 Of the experimental boys compared to the experimental girls was statistically significant with the boys showing consider- able more variability. The analysis Of the data indicated that there was no relationship between GOOdenough raw scores and dot pattern performance for the experimental group. This suggests that visual perception requiring rapid organiza— tion may be linked to intelligence. In the experimental group there was a tendency for the perception Of dot patterns at short exposure durations to be associated with both chronological age and intelli- gence. For the control group increased mental age was associated with dot pattern performance scores: however, this trend did not hold for chronological age. Both factors were related to dot pattern scores in the eXperi- mental pOpulation. In the Perseveration Test both groups clearly per- ceived the vase aspect of the ambiguous picture. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The difference between the two grOUps with respect to occurrence Of perseveration was not statistically significant although deaf subjects tended to perseverate more than hearing subjects. AS regards all other variables related to perseveration, the authors concluded that there were no striking trends Of association. 98 Doehring and Rosensteinl conducted an investigation in which the purpose was to Specify the effect Of retarda- tion in the develoPment of spoken language on the ability Of deaf children to recognize visually-presented verbal stimuli. Forty orally trained deaf children and 40 hearing children comprised the subject groups. Half of the children in each group ranged in CA from 9 to 11 years, and the other half ranged from 12 to 16 years. The performance Of deaf children was compared with that Of hearing children in the accuracy of visual recognition of briefly exposed letters, Trigrams (three letter combinations that do not form a word), and four letter words. According to the authors, single letters and trigrams were utilized as stimuli to determine whether difficulty in word recognition by deaf children might be related to deficiencies in the visual perception Of single symbols or of non-meaningful combina- tions of symbols. A measure Of reading vocabulary was also Obtained since word recognition might vary as a function of the size of reading vocabulary. By dividing normal and deaf subjects into two age groups, it was possible to determine whether differences in recognition ability became less as deaf children had more time to acquire language skills. 1D. Doehring and J. Rosenstein, "Visual Word Recog- nition by Deaf and Hearing Children," Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, Volume 3 (1960), pp.4320-326. 99 Rather than determine thresholds for visual word recognition using an ascending method of limits, each test stimulus was presented only once for 0.01 sec., and the measure of accuracy Of recognition was the percentage Of correct responses for each type Of stimulus. Each subject was tested individually in his own school in a room free from distraction. The subject responded by writing his response to the stimulus. Three practice stimuli corresponding to the nature Of the stimulus item (letters, trigrams, words) were presented to each sub- ject before testing was begun. Each practice item was pre- sented until the subject made a correct response. Follow- ing administration Of test items, each child took the Ammons and Ammons Full Range Picture Vocabulary Test. TO convert the results to a reading rather than listening vocabulary, the Ammons stimulus words were typewritten and presented to the subject. The results of the study clearly Showed that young deaf children were below young hearing children on the three tests of visual recognition and on the Ammons reading vocabulary. This difference held only for reading vocabulary among the older subjects. There was no significant difference in visual recognition between Older hearing and older deaf subjects. In conclusion, the authors stated that accuracy Of visual recognition Of verbal material by Older deaf children was dependent upon an estimate of the probability of occurrence of the verbal 100 stimulus rather than upon the mere frequency of prior visual and auditory stimulation. Tatoul and Davidson1 conducted a study to assess the relationship of synthetic ability to lipreading per- formance. Synthetic ability was defined by the authors as an ability to anticipate the whole from knowledge of a few parts; visual perception, attention, and concentration were thought to be related to the process of synthesis. In this investigation synthetic ability was measured by means Of scores on a letter prediction test. The highest 25 and lowest 25 scores Obtained by 100 college students in a beginning speech course were utilized as subjects in this research. Lipreading was the criteria for subject selection, along with normal vision and normal auditory acuity. The John Tracy Clinic Film Test Of Lip Reading Form A was utilized as a measure of lipreading performance. The measure of synthetic ability was a letter prediction test. The test consisted of 20 sentences selected randomly from Form B of the John Tracy Clinic Film Test of Lip Reading. For each sentence, the subject was given a key word from the sentence. He was then to attempt to predict the letters of each word of the 1C. M. Tatoul and G. D. Davidson, "Lipreading and Letter Prediction," Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, Volume 4 (1961), pp. 178-181. 101 20 sentences including the Spaces between the words. The results of this evaluation showed that good lipreaders were not able to predict letters of sentences significantly better than poor lipreaders. The authors concluded that there was no relationship between synthetic ability and lipreading or that possibly letter prediction is not a valid index of synthetic ability. According to Olson,l there was a profound lack of research tools that could be utilized by investigators and educators to predict language abilities Of deaf children. It was stated that for the deaf child the visual perception of form might be integrally related to language acquisition since most language clues are taken from the lips, fingers, hands, or the printed symbol. This being the case, possibly superior perceptual ability in the visual modality would enhance a more rapid intake of patterned language movement. This would be evidenced, therefore, in the qualitative and quantitative aSpects Of the deaf child's eXpressive langu- age. The design Of this investigation correlated speed of visual perception with language abilities. According lJack Olson, "A Factor Analytic Study of the Rela— tion Between the Speed of Visual Perception and the Langu- age Abilities of Deaf Adolescents," Journal of Speech and Hgaring Research, Volume 10, NO. 2 (Eune, 1967), pp. 354- 359. 102 to the author, the general hypothesis Of the research was as follows: the faster a deaf child can visually perceive and process meaningful movements, geometric Shapes, pseudo— symbolic shapes, and letter shapes, the more rapidly he can visually assimilate information including language. An experimental group Of 39 deaf children with a mean age of 14.2 years participated in this study. The subjects were selected from two residential schools for the deaf. There were 19 females and 20 males with a mean Leiter International Performance Scale IQ of 86.5. The following instruments were utilized as measures of language ability: The Craig Lipreading Inventory, an instrument designed to differentiate levels of lipreading skill among deaf children from the end Of the first grade through the tenth grade; the Gates Reading Survey, divided into three parts which measure Speed and Accuracy, Reading Vocabulary, and Level Of Comprehension; The Myklebust Picture Story Language Test, means Of evaluating a story written by a child in response to a standard picture. The story is scored in terms of Productivity, Syntax Quotient, and Abstract-Concrete levels of language. Five measures were utilized in the assessment Of visual perception. The purpose of these measures was to differentiate good from poor perceivers; thus, the instru— ments measured static as well as moving forms. The Speed Of Perception Digital Movements consisted Of 20 sequences 103 of fingerspelled consonants such as LTGX. The purpose of the test was to determine the speed with which the deaf child, accustomed to fingerspelling, can perceive and write a sequence Of four letters shown by means of a variable Speed projector. A second measure was termed Speed of Perception of Letter Sequences, a test consisting Of 20 four-letter consonantal sequences chosen at random from the alphabet with no two like letters ever appearing in the same sequence. The middle section of each capitalized four-letter sequence was cut away to achieve relative difficulty at the four tachistosc0pic exposure durations used (15, 55, 90, and 130 msec.). aSpeed Of Perception Of Familiar Words was another measure of perception utilized. Nineteen four-letter PB words and 61 four-letter PBK words were tachistosc0pically projected at the previous exposure durations. The words were written in capital letters, and sections were removed from the center Of each word. Larger sections were removed as the test progressed. The fourth measure of visual perception was called Speed of Perception Of Pseudo-Symbolic Forms. Twenty sequences of forms were created by the author. The forms were con- structed to resemble letters from alphabets other than English, and the stimuli were utilized to represent an unknown symbol system. This test was thought to assess the deaf child's ability to perceive and discriminate small differences in form. To increase the difficulty Of the 104 items as the test progressed, increasingly more forms were incorporated. The exposure durations remained the same. The final instrument was called Speed of Perception Of Geometric Forms. Twenty stimulus figures were taken from the Chicago non-Verbal Examination and the MetrOpOlitan Reading Readiness TEst. The figures of the test were con- structed in variations of the more traditional circles, triangles, and squares. Items were arranged from easy to difficult and were projected at each of the four exposure durations. In addition to 22 visual perception scores and 10 language scores, CA and IQ were added for a total of 34 measures. The following results are reported by the author: Out Of the 220 coefficients Of the matrix, 112 lacked Significance. The majority of these nonsignificant correlations were related to Tests D (pseudo-symbolic forms) and E (geometric figures). In other words, the language measures were generally not related to the perception of non-meaningful or non-symbolic stimuli. Test A, the movie of finger-spelled sequences, was moderately related to speech-reading and significantly correlated with every written language measure (mostly r's of 0.50 to 0.60). Test A also revealed high correlations (0.60's) in many instances with reading ability. On the basis of the above results, Olson was able to reject, at the 0.01 level, the null hypothesis Of no correlations between tests of visual perception and language. 1ibid., p. 358. 1') .K1 '(3 105 As an additional statistical test, the correlation matrix was converted to a factor matrix by means of a computer. The rotated factor data showed that visual perceptual and language elements of the test battery were positively related. The author concluded the study in the following manner: These results suggest to the writer that language ability in general (as determined by the test used in the investigation) was positively related to the per- ception of the faster, rather than the slower speeds. These results seemed to give credance to the hypothesis that the ability to visually perceive rapid movement or to recognize forms quickly was somehow linked to the overall pattern of language acquisition for the deaf child. The initial language intake systems of the deaf (Speechreading, fingerspelling, or manual signs) seemed to be based upon rapidity of visual perception. It seemed logical that those deaf children who were more attentive to visual cues, or who quickly synthesize visual information from their environment would be more likely to develOp language at a faster rate. Summary This chapter has reviewed the literature pertain- ing to visual perception as this has been evaluated through tachistosc0pic study. Specifically, the materials included herein have reported the effects Of limited exposure on the following phenomena: (1) problem solving behavior in adults and children; (2) word identification and word recognition thresholds; (3) form reproduction; lIbid., p. 359. 106 (4) recognition of nonsense and unfamiliar forms; (5) figure-background relationships; (6) completion and incom- pletion of tasks; (7) recognition of nonsense words; (8) closure; (9) perceptual organization; (10) spatial organi- zation; and (11) problem solving as a function Of relevant information. The results have been varied. A number of studies have alluded to the notion that visual perception of rapidly exposed stimuli involves, in part, one Of two basic approaches (depending on the subject) which might be thought Of as analysis and synthesis. Several articles have linked intelligence to visual perception. The process of visual perception has been traced from a vague awareness of "things" with no real Object character to accurate identification and reproduction varying as a function of increased eXposure duration. Practice effects, recency Of prior exposure to stimulus materials, illumination level, fixation point, and the amount of available relevant information have all been cited as important considerations in tachistosc0pic research. Research has also focused on the completion of closure-type tasks. The constraining influence Of a parti- cular configuration was found to have little influence on the subject's ability to affect closure. One study failed to establish a relationship between the ability to affect closure and intelligence. Another study sought to show that the need to affect closure was an integral part of the 107 human personality. It was thought that the organism realizes a need to complete the "wholeness" of fragmented or disarranged objects. Great individual differences were found between subjects in their capacity to affect closure. As in the tachistosc0pic studies, there was some indica- tion that, depending on the individual, closure is completed in either an analytic or synthetic fashion, e.g. attending to isolated parts or to the whole object respectively. In addition to the preceding materials, several studies have sought to eXplore the visual perception of deaf and hard-of—hearing children. Alterations in visual perception were found to accompany deafness in children. These alterations were found in figure-background relation- ships, in visual perseveration, and in the subject's ability to deal visually with line patterns and dotted patterns. Visual perception as it relates to synthesis in lipreading has been researched, however, no relationship could be established between the two phenomena. Speed of visual perception of verbal materials was found to be related to language ability in young, deaf adolescents. This review has covered a broad SCOpe of investiga- tions. An attempt has been made to link a number of studies included here with the writer's theory of visual synthesis and lipreading and with his methodology. In spite Of the numerous tachistosc0pic studies, incomplete stimuli and closure studies, and perception and aural rehabilitation 108 studies, only the most minimal research has focused on visual synthesis. NO author has pooled the work in experi- mental psychology, visual physiology, and aural rehabili— tation in an effort to explore systematically the phenomenon of visual synthesis, and its relationship to the process of lipreading. To this point, only the most tenuous evidence has been proffered which links synthesis with the ability to interpret meaning from a talker's lips. CHAPTER III SUBJECTS,EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, AND PROCEDURES Subjects A group of 32 subjects participated in this project, 16 males and 16 females. These subjects were selected ran— domly from the class lists of students enrolled in a basic voice and articulation course at Michigan State University. Subjects in the male group ranged in age from 18 to 30 years with a mean chronological age of 20.9 years. The median age for males was 20 years. Female subjects ranged in age from 18 to 26 years with a mean age Of 20.2 years. The median age for females was 19 years. All subjects displayed normal 20/20 vision or vision corrected to normal 20/20 as evidenced by performance on a Snallen Chart at a testing distance Of 20 feet. Oyer, Hardick and Irionl have recently conducted a research investigation which sought to establish a relationship between visual parameters and lip- reading ability. Sixteen subjects participated in the 1H. J. Oyer, E. J. Hardick, and P. Irion, "Lip- reading Performance as Related to Measurements Of Vision," Unpublished Study, Michigan State University, 1968. 109 110 study. Eight of the subjects were classified as "good" lipreaders and eight subjects were classified as "poor" lipreaders based on their performance on the filmed Utley Lipreading Test, How Well Can You Read Lips, Form A. It was found that among subjects with normal vision the single most important variable related to lipreading skill was visual acuity. Thus, visual acuity was the only parameter evaluated for the subjects Of the present study. No subject had a history of ear problems such as chronic or acute otitis media, mastoiditis, otosclerosis, sensorineural hearing loss or any other pathology which could have established prolonged hearing loss. Also, no subject reported history of recurrent upper respiratory infection or tonsil and adenoid infection. (This informa- tion was secured in an audiological interview conducted by the investigator. A OOpy of the interview form is found in Appendix I.) Each subject had normal hearing at the time of the investigation as evidenced by responses to a pure tone sweep check evaluation for frequencies 250-8000 Hz. Each subject passed each test frequency at a level of 20 dB hearing level, re: audiometric zero, ISO, January 1, 1964. Normal intelligence was assumed since all subjects were enrolled as full time students at Michigan State University. A criteria for enrollment at Michigan State University is normal intelligence as derived from College 111 Qualifier Test, which is administered to all freshmen and transfer students at the university. An attempt was made to control for the experiential background of each subject in an effort to insure that no subject had been previously exposed to the lipreading test utilized in the present investigation. NO subject had taken course work in the areas of deaf education, deaf and hard-of—hearing rehabilitation, or audiology either clin- ical or eXperimental. No subject had ever received formal lipreading instruction at the pre-school, elementary, secondary, college or university levels. None of the sub- jects had ever participated in a previous lipreading study as a subject or as an examiner. Equipment The following equipment and apparatus were used in this investigation. PhotOCOpier with 35 mm Back (Polaroid MP3 Land Camera, Multi-Purpose Industrial View Camera with U.H.L. 35 mm Back) TachistOSCOpe (Lafayette TachistoscOpe, Lafayette Instrument Company) Visual Acuity Chart (Snellen Chart) Movie Screen (Radiant Wallmaster) Pure Tone Audiometer (Allison Model 22 Clinical and Research Audiometer) Headset (TDH-39 Phones) Sound Treated Test Suite (Suttle Sound Proof Booth) Exposure Meter (New Spectra Combi-500: Photo Re- search Corporation) Movie Projector (Bell and Howell 16mm). 112 Materials The following materials were used in the study. 35 mm Film (Kodachrome Type II-A) Audiological Case History Interview Forms (Michigan State University In-Take Interview Forms for Audiological Evaluation) Subject Response Forms for Test of Visual Synthesis (Appendix II). The Utley Lipreading Test, How Well Can You Read Lipg, Form A was utilized as a measure Of lipreading ability. This instrument is a standardized motion picture test of lipreading ability; in addition, it serves as an Objective measure in school placement and school progress for deaf and hard Of hearing children. It is also employed as a basis for comparing the relative effectiveness of different methods and techniques of teaching lipreading. The test consists Of Part I, Sentence Test; Part II, Word Test; and Part III, Story Test. The materials selected for the various parts of the test emphasize meaningful speech units, and the total test stresses the "synthetic approach."1 The Sentence Test was made up Of 31 common expressions and idiomatic sentences. The Word Test consists Of 36 words selected from the 1000 most frequently used words. The Story Test contains six stories; each story contains an element Of unexpectedness and is followed by five questions lJean Utley, Teacher's Lesson Manual (Chicago: Robert H. Redfield, Inc.), p. l. 113 based on conversations within the stories. The test can be applied to deaf and hard of hearing children and adults with a reading level of third grade or above (the correct responses for the Utley Test are found in Appendix III). Stimulus Materials In addition to an assessment of lipreading, a test Of visual synthesis was designed to assess specifically this ability in the subjects Of this study. The following materials represent a rationale for inclusion of the various subtests Of this instrument and a description of the construction and items of the test of visual synthesis. Based on a rather extensive review of the literature pertaining to synthesis in lipreading, the subtests which were included in this instrument were thought to represent both verbal and non-verbal items which assess the lip- reader's rapid, visual, intuitive, synthetic ability. At the outset, it should be stated that seven of the nine subtests of this instrument required recognition and/or organization speed on the part Of the subject. Several authors have stressed the importance of rapidity Of perception on the part of lipreaders. Pierce1 had in- dicated that speech reading requires the greatest possible 1Pierce, "Psychology of Speech Reading," pp. 56-59. 114 speed; while Smithl talked about fleeting significations of the mouth when a person Speaks. Bell2 talked about the necessity of accurate, rapid, easy lipreading and Clarke and Walker3 emphasized the necessity for responses on the part Of the lipreader which are as rapid as possible. In- deed, most of the authors reviewed to this point have insisted on speed in the process Of lipreading. More recently O'Neill and Oyer4 have indicated that rapid rates of projection of visual training stimuli serve to enhance the skill of the lipreader. The subtests Of this instru- ment which required recognition and organization speed were so constructed that the more rapid the subject's recog- nition and/or organization Of the visual stimulus, the higher the score for that subtest. Subtest I: Geometric Forms Recognition Speed This subtest consisted of eight frames which assessed the lipreader's speed Of recognizing geometric forms as they were projected with a tachistoscOpe at 1Smith, "The Veil of Silence," pp. 199-207. 2Bell, "The Subtile Art of Speechreading," pp. 104- 116. 3 129-133. Clarke and Walker, "Lessons in Lipreading," pp. 4O'Neill and Oyer, Visual Communication 115 exposure durations Of .002 sec., .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., .5 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., 4 sec., and 5 sec. The forms consisted of a triangle, a rectangle, a trapezoid, a circle, a semi-circle, a hexagon, a parallelogram, and a square. Some investigators have suggested that lipreading ability requires the ability to recognize simple forms, and that training in the recognition Of such forms might be a useful adjunct to lipreading instruction.l They further concluded that lipreading skill might be more dependent on recognizing certain kinds Of forms than on the recognition of verbal cues. They based their conclu— sions on the Significant correlation Obtained between lip- reading ability and sorting blocks of different color and shape into four categories, i.e. the Hanfmann-Kasanin Test Of Concept Formation. A review of this instrument revealed that the subject's task is one Of sorting blocks according to the dimensions of height and volume. The test is utilized in the orthOpsychiatric field as a measure of non- verbal concept formation. The geometric forms Of the blocks include a semi-circle, triangle, circle, square, hexagon and trapezoid. The items Of the subtest utilized 1O'Neill and Davidson, "Lipreading and Psycholog- ical Factors," pp. 478-481. 116 in this research included, in two dimensional form, all of the geometric shapes of the Hanfmann-Kasanin Test in addi— tion to a rectangle and a parallelogram. It was felt that such items would assess visual synthetic ability through their projection at varied eXposure times. Such a test, in its Speeded form, would require a subject to grasp a sensory impression and unify it in a limited period of time. It was anticipated that better lipreaders would re- quire shorter eXposure times for recognition than poor lip- readers and that they would, therefore, receive a higher score on this test. Theoretically, good lipreaders would be viewing only a portion of the form and would mentally provide the remainder in order to derive the geometric whole, i.e. they would be visually synthesizing. Subtest II: Geometric Form Patterns Speed of Organizing Patterns This subtest consisted of ten frames which assessed the lipreader's speed Of organizing visually geometric form patterns as they were projected with a tachistoscOpe at exposure durations of .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., .5 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., 4 sec., 5 sec. The forms consisted of a triangle, a rectangle, a trapezoid, a circle, a semi-circle, a hexagon, a parall- elogram, and a square. Each specific frame consisted Of four Of these forms assigned randomly to that frame. 117 This particular subtest was thought to require visual attention and rapid visual synthesis. The subject would be required to attend to four geometric stimuli as they are projected at varied eXposure times. The stimuli were assigned to their reSpective frames randomly. Since the subject would be attending to four geometric forms arranged in a random order, the visual synthetic task was thought to be more complex than the task of recognizing single geometric forms. In addition, the subject would have to organize the sensory impressions as they were pre- sented and retain this organization in order to establish a correct reproduction. Assuming that the recognition of geometric forms is an integral part of the process Of lip- reading (See Subtest I), then it seems feasible that the organization and retention of a number of such forms is also related to the process. As an example, if a talker's lips do, in fact, form circles, semi-circles, etc., as he verbalizes a message, then the good lipreader would have the ability to organize these forms and to retain the organ- ization until the message was completed. AS with the single stimuli it was anticipated that the better lipreaders would have the ability to organize these geometric forms at shorter exposure durations than poor lipreaders and con- sequently they would obtain higher scores on this particular subtest. 118 Subtest III: Common Words, Recognition Speed This subtest consisted of 28 frames which assessed the lipreader's speed of recognizing common words as they were projected with a tachiStOSCOpe at exposure durations of .002 sec., .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., .5 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., 4 sec., and 5 sec. The frames consisted of the words which follow: go, he, me, us, men, but, law, boy, girl, real, care, stOp, bring, first, house, close, street, window, person, wonder, country, company, hundred, believe, increase, anything, thousand, and consider. In constructing this particular subtest it was assumed that the process of lipreading involves, in part, the subject's ability to recognize whole words as they appear on the talker's lips. Kitson,l utilizing a tachisto- SCOpe, assessed the ability Of a lipreader to recognize four kinds Of stimulus materials, one Of which was long words such as "superintendent" or "prevalence." In addition to this task, Kitson utilized the following stimuli in con- junction with the tachiStOSCOpe in order to measure syn- thetic ability in lipreaders: sentences containing from 1H. D. Kitson, "Psychological Tests for Lip-Reading Ability," Volta Review, Volume 17 (1915), pp. 471-476. 119 three to six 3-letter words, the letter "a" printed from four to seven times, and words and phrases bisected hori- zontally showing only the upper half. Reportedly, these tachistosc0pic tasks correlated 0.67 with the experimenter's rank Of a subject's lipreading ability. The number of eXposures necessary before all cards were perceived correctly represented the score of the individual in the test. The items for this subtest were selected from Thorndike-Lorge'sl list of 500 most frequently occurring words. Each frame was projected at varied eXposure dura- tions and the subjects who utilized the Shortest exposure times for the words obtained the highest scores on the subtest. It was thought that good lipreaders would show the ability to recognize only a few Of the printed symbols and to provide mentally those cues which were missed, i.e. they would show the greatest recognition speed and synthetic ability. The tasks Of this subtest represented a wider sampling Of visual synthetic ability as it relates to the recognition of whole words since the items sampled a wider range of stimuli than the Kitson materials. In addition, it is the Opinion Of the writer that these tasks included 1E. I. Thorndike and I. Lorge, The Teacher's Word Book Of 30,000 Words (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959): Pp. 1-274. 120 probably represented a more realistic sampling of synthetic ability since the process of lipreading is certainly not restricted to the recognition of "long" words exclusively. Subtest IV: Scattered Letters, Speed Of Organizing Words This subtest consisted of 20 frames which assessed the lipreader's Speed of organizing words from scattered letters as they are projected with a tachistoscope at ex- posure durations Of .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., .5 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., 3 sec., 4 sec., and 5 sec. The frames consisted of the words which follow: of, my, if, to, yet, red, our, air, your, hand, fall, down, chair, given, paper, water, within, peOple, enough, and public. This particular subtest was based on the writer's assumption that in addition to recognizing whole words on the lips Of a talker, the lipreader is also faced with the task of perceiving visually isolated phonemes and assembl— ing these phonetic cues to form words and subsequently a meaningful message. "Sometimes he does not even perceive the whole Of one word. He must deduce by placing them all together and grasping from the whole, the meaning intended."l lJerry Pierce, "The Psychology of Speech Reading," pp. 56-590 121 Bell1 has stressed that the process of lipreading involves both the ability to perceive whole words and also the ability to derive meaning from parts of words, e.g. phonemes. Crain2 discussed the necessity Of grasping whole thought from a few words or movements, the implication being that such movements relay specific phonemes. In a discussion of "synthetic ability" Nitchie3 stressed the necessity Of grasping meaning through perceiving movements and words. Inherent in this definition is the assumption that lipreading involves assembling movements (phonemes) to form words and assembling words to form meaningful messages. Berg,4 in her discussion of the Jena Method, has indicated that the lipreader reads on the lips a whole series of movements, organizes these movements, and supplies the missing phonemes by synthesis. The Heiders5 suggested that lipreading instruction might be supplemented by training in recognizing isolated . 1Mabel Gardiner Bell, "The Subtile Art of Speech Reading," pp. 104-116. 2Lina Crain, "Lipreading and Preparedness," pp. 3Elizabeth Helm Nitchie, "The Synthetic Method," 4Marie Berg, "The Lipreading Problem," pp. 268-273. 5Fritz and Grace Moore Heider, "An Experimental Investigation Of Lipreading," Volta Review, VOlume 42, NO. 12 (December, 1940), pp. 821-825. 122 elements. Their conclusion was based on the statistical relationship which existed between lipreading ability and a subject's ability to recognize vowels and consonants. Training in the recognition of elements was thought to establish the ability to recognize "wholes" from the parts, a process Of assembling the recognized parts to form a "whole." Keithl discussed the necessity of lipreading drill and indicated that such drill establishes the rapid, easy, recognition Of individual consonants and vowels. The recognition Of these cues supplements the eventual grasp Of whole words and phrases. O'Neill and Oyer2 discuss a basic approach to the teaching Of lipreading and indicate that the lipreader establishes a preparatory set which alerts the visual pro- cess to receive lip movements as communicative material. They further state that the lipreader must assemble seg- mented information in order to form meaningful messages. The words for this particular subtest were selected from Thorndike-Lorge's3 list of 500 most frequently occurring words. The letters which constituted the words lJohn Keith, "Everyone Has What It Takes," pp. 576- 578. 2O'Neill and Oyer, Visual Communication, pp. 6-7. 3E. L. Thorndike and I. Lorge, Teacher's Word Book, pp. 1-274. 123 of this subtest were placed arbitrarily on the frames in a scattered order. The words were selected so that the letters could be assembled to form one word and one word only, thus ruling out more than one correct reSponse per frame. The stimulus words varied from two to six letters. Each frame was projected at varied exposure times, and the scoring was designed SO that the subjects who could organize the words at the shortest exposure times would receive the highest scores. Subtest V:- Scattered Words, Speed of Organizing Sentences This subtest consisted of twenty frames which assessed the lipreader's speed of organizing scattered words into sentences. The words were projected with a tachistOSCOpe at eXposure durations of .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., .5 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., 4 sec., and 5 sec. The sentences were as follows: The man came home. I know the answer. GO to the store. She sees the car. You cannot finish on time. The rain stOpped at night. They showed us the way. I left it here yesterday. We had chicken for dinner Sunday. The train arrives at noon today. Park the car beside the house. Get some stamps at the postoffice. Put the groceries on the kitchen table. The farmer plants wheat in the Spring. She left her book on the desk. I told you to leave it here. 124 I have time to finish both jobs today. We bought balloons to take to the children. The salesman left for Chicago two days ago. He arrives at the airport at seven tomorrow. Just as the lipreader's task involves the organi- zation of bits and pieces of phonemic information to form whole words, so must the lipreader organize words which are scattered in the message context to form sentences. The tasks of this particular subtest were thought to assess' the ability of the lipreader to form a meaningful sentence from scattered words. Oyer1 has re-defined the lipreading process as "The correct identification of arbitrary symbols in a system common to a speech community, transmitted via the visual components Of oral discourse." Related to this definition, O'Neill and Oyer2 have discussed the process Of synthesis in lipreading. They advocate a teaching method which encompasses key vocabulary, identified context, and a knowledge of linguistic rules; all of these factors are assembled to form the thought of the lipreader relative to the-transmitted visual message of the talker. The process Of lipreading and the teaching of lipreading are seen as moving from meaningful material to meaningful material 1Interview with Herbert J. Oyer, Professor and Chairman, Department Of Audiology and Speech Sciences, .Michigan State University, January 11, 1968. 2O'Neill and Oyer, Visual Communication, pp. 2-3. 125 along a continuum Of complexity, i.e. from words constituted by consonant-vowel combinations, to sentences constituted by words, to paragraphs constituted by sentences. The items of this particular subtest do, in fact, tax the subject's vocabulary, his grasp of the message context, and his knowledge Of linguistic rules. The situa- tion of synthesizing is approximated by varying exposure times of the stimulus materials. -It is thought that better lipreaders will graSp key vocabulary at rapid exposure times and provide mentally the cues which were not per- ceived, thus arriving at the completed message more quickly than poor lipreaders. Subtest VI: Deleted Sentences, Providing Missing Cues in a Verbal Context This subtest consisted Of 30 frames which assessed the lipreader's Speed of providing missing cues to deleted sentences. The sentences were projected with a tachisto- SOOpe at eXposure durations of .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., and 5 sec. The sentences were as follows: Hang up your jacket. DO you go to college? StOp here on your way home. Can we talk about it now? Will you go with me? Can you drive a car? I know where he is. The bus stops every hour. Come to our house tonight. Finish that work today. My mother is not here. 126 This house is not for sale. How old are you? I like that painting best. I saw that movie. She must be home by ten. He will leave at noon. What are your suggestions? How far do we have to go? DO you have a match? How much time is left? I am twenty one years Old. Have you got the keys? It was nice meeting you. Has it stopped raining? I can leave tomorrow. I work eight hours a day. It is getting cool outside. DO you have the money? Is it too far to walk? Simmons,1 in her investigation of factors thought to be related to lipreading, utilized the Gestalt Comple- tion Test (30 fragmented pictures of common Objects pro- jected on a screen); Thurston Mutiliated Words (26 frag- mented one and two syllable words); and fragmentary sentences in order to evaluate the synthetic ability Of lipreaders. Of the three tests of synthetic ability, only the one dealing with sentences was found to be significantly correlated with lipreading as measured by the filmed Utley and Mason Tests. Pearson r values of 0.44 and 0.40 were obtained between fragmentary sentences and the Mason and Utley films respectively. The Gestalt Completion items were projected on a screen for five seconds. The Mutilated lA Simmons, "Factors Related to Lipreading," pp. 340-352. 127 Words and fragmentary sentences were both paper-and-pencil instruments requiring five minutes and 15 minutes for completion respectively. In the present investigation the items for this particular subtest were constructed in the following manner: Ten sentences were constructed with every seventh letter deleted. Ten sentences were constructed with every fifth letter deleted. Ten sentences were constructed with every third letter deleted. It was felt that projection Of these stimulus frames at varied exposure durations would require the lip- reader tO rapidly perceive and organize the words. In addition, the lipreader would be required to provide miss— ing cues in order to arrive at the correct response. By varying exposure times, thus requiring visual grouping of stimulus words, the subtest was thought to be a more accurate sampling of visual synthetic ability than the fragmentary sentences utilized in the Simmons endeavor. It was anticipated that this ability would show a highly Significant relationship with lipreading ability as mea- sured by the Utley filmed test. Certainly, the subject would be required to derive messages on the basis Of partial cues, a situation closely allied to the visual synthetic process.involved in lipreading. For this reason the subtest was thought to be a valuable component Of a test of visual synthesis. 128 Subtest VII: Dotted Outlines, Speed of Perceiving Letters and Digits from Disparate Elements This subtest consisted of 16 frames which assessed the lipreader's ability to perceive rapidly letters and digits from disparate elements. The stimulus materials were projected with a tachistoscope at exposure durations of .01 sec., .02 sec., .04 sec., .1 sec., .2 sec., .5 sec., 1 sec., 2 sec., 3 sec., 4 sec., and 5 sec. The letters and digits were as follows: V, Z, A, T, W, Y, 2, 4, 5, L, 7, P, B, E, M, N. L. L. Thurstonel conducted a factorial study of perceptual effects, a portion of which was designed to explore the phenomenon of visual closure. Other areas in— vestigated included Optical illusions, reaction time, speed of perception, speed of judgment, readiness, and subject ability to manipulate visually two or more configurations at the same time. In his description of perceptual tests, Thurstone discussed a test of "Dotted Outlines." In order to justify the inclusion of such a subtest in a test Of visual synthesis, a considerable portion of Thurstone's description is included here: In the Simplest case we may present the subject with perceptual material that seems at first sight to be in the nature Of scattered, unrelated, and unorganized 1L. L. Thurstone, A Factorial Stugy Of Perception (Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1944), pp. 1—148. 129 items in the visual field. At the moment Of closure all the scattered items snap into a meaningful and self-consistent whole which is then perceived instead Of the disparate elements. In situations where the subject has some delay in discovering unity of the presentation, he sometimes wonders why he did not see it immediately, and he may have difficulty in again perceiving the same presentation as a disorganized field. In this case we are assuming that all the per- ceptual items participate in the closure so as to leave nothing irrelevant after closure has been Obtained. The Street Gestalt Completion Test and the Mutilated Words are both examples of this type Of closure, as is also the present test of Dotted Outlines. Thurstone's description of "Dotted Outlines" implies that the subject must organize scattered materials to form a meaningful message, the process he called closure. The description is not unlike the present writer's Operational definition of visual synthetic ability which states that good lipreaders, as they utilize the process of visual synthesis must extract cues from a communication situation and combine and integrate these cues to form the talker's message. By projecting dotted outline figures at rapid exposure times it was anticipated that subjects would not perceive visually every clue and, therefore, the task would closely approximate the "filling in" process of visual synthesis. Permission was Obtained from the University of Chicago Press, and the Thurstone dotted outlines were duplicated as stimulus items for this test. 1 . m0] p. 20. 130 Subtest VIII: Object Recognition, Providing Missing Cues in a Non- Verbal Context This subtest consisted of 33 frames (seven Objects) which were projected on the screen for five seconds with the tachistoscOpe. The objects consisted of a fish, lamp, foot, television, cup, table, and a tree. Each time that a cue was flashed on the screen, the subject attempted to identify the whole Object. At no time was the whole object projected. O'Neill,l O'Neill and Davidson,2 and Simmons3 stressed, on the basis of their research findings, that possibly lipreading ability was, in part, related to the ability to perceive relationships between non-verbal stimuli. In the Simmons study 30 fragmented pictures were projected on a screen for five seconds, and subjects were requested to identify the common Object which was presented. This Gestalt Completion Test was not correlated significantly with any Of three measures Of lipreading performance. Typically, Gestalt completion-type items involve presenting the subject a picture of an object with one or more parts 1J. J. O'Neill, "Investigations Of Lipreading Ability," pp. 309-311. ’2J. J. O'Neill and J. Davidson, "Lipreading Ability and Psychological Factors," pp. 478-481. 3Simmons, "Factors Related to Lipreading," pp. 340- 352. 131 deleted or blurred, and the subject is required to identify the Object. The nature of the task requires the subject to provide mentally the missing cues in order to arrive at a correct identification. This mental provision is very close to the writer's definition of visual synthetic ability. In the present investigation, however, the task of provid- ing missing cues in a non-verbal context is modified from the characteristic Gestalt completion items. In this in- stance the subject is shown a common Object piece by piece, e.g. if the Object was a table he might be first presented with one leg of the table, half the top, another leg, the other half Of the top and the remaining two legs. The sub- ject is instructed to attempt to name the object with the presentation of each Slide. Like the Gestalt completion items the subject is requested to provide the missing cues mentally. Here, however, the similarity ends. In addition to providing cues mentally the subject must retain cues which have been previously identified. The presentation Of each succeeding cue makes the subject's task more simple since he is Operating on the basis of increased information. At no time does the subject see the complete Object. Mentally he must retain cues, provide missing cues, perceive the relationships that exist among the cues, and assemble the cues to form a meaningful whole. The nature Of this task closely approximates the writer's definition of visual Synthetic ability, and therefore, this subtest is included in the present investigation. 132 Subtest Ix: Picture Arrangement, Deriving the Whole on the Basis of Partial Cues This subtest consisted of the "Picture Arrangement" subtest materials Of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. A number Of the cards were removed randomly from the items so that the subject was faced with the task of providing the missing cues in order to arrive at the correct answer. In the writer's definition of visual synthetic ability it was stated that the lipreader must be aware of the tOpic Of conversation and the participants in the con- versational situation. It might be inferred from this that a certain amount Of "sizing up" Of a situation is involved in the process Of lipreading. In short, the lipreader must grasp the varied interactions Of any communication environ- ment, derive clues from manifold sources, and on the basis Of this sensory feedback, he is able to participate more effectively and intelligently in the verbal interchange. For this reason, it was thought advisable to include a sub- test in a test of visual synthetic ability which assessed this particular trait in lipreaders. According to Thompson the "Picture Arrangement" subtest of the WAIS: Effectively measures a subject's ability to comprehend, appraise, or "Size up" a total situation. The subject must understand the whole, must "get the idea" before he can successfully finish the task. There is, there— fore, some element Of trial and error at work in many 133 instances. Furthermore, he must evaluate a total Situation in a non-language context.l Thompson further indicates that this particular subtest requires not only visual acuity but also visual perception, factors thought to be intricately related to visual syn- thetic ability. Simmons2 found a significant correlation between the "Picture Arrangement" subtest and the Mason and Utley filmed tests Of lipreading. It was not the intention here to replicate the results obtained by Simmons, but rather to modify the presentation of the items Of the "Picture Arrangement" subtest in order to duplicate more effectively the lipreading situation. For each item of this subtest, one or more of the stimuli were removed randomly from the available cards. The subject's task was then one of appraising the situation on the basis of partial clues. It was anticipated that good lipreaders would perform sig- nificantly better than poor lipreaders as they completed this task. It was felt that this task duplicated the task of the lipreader as he encounters communication situations in his day-to-day contacts. 1Alice C. Thompson, Analysis and Interpretatiog Of Subtests of the Stanford Binet and Wechsler Scales Of In- telligence (Los Angeles: Los Angeles State College, 1962), pp. 1-98. 2Simmons, "Factors Related to Lipreading," pp. 340-352. 134 Pilot Study At the outset it was originally intended to project all stimulus materials at 1/1000 and 1/500 of a second, in addition to the remaining exposure times. On the basis of a six subject pilot study, however, it was found that no subject could perceive any of the stimulus materials at 1/1000 sec. In only three of the subtests which required perceptual speed were subjects able to perceive stimuli at 1/500 sec. These subtests included Geometric Forms, Common Words, and Dotted Outlines. Therefore, exposure time l/1000 sec. was drOpped from the design and 1/500 sec. was retained for only the aforementioned subtests. The shortest exposure duration utilized for the remaining subtests was 1/100 sec. Experimental Procedures Following random selection, subjects were scheduled to appear at the audiology suite for purposes of completing the audiological interview and the sweep-check screening. After completion of the sweep-check screening, subjects were instructed to read the Snellen Chart at a distance Of 20 feet. This was accomplished by having the subjects read the chart one eye at a time with the non-test eye covered. After satisfying the criteria Of normal hearing and vision, all subjects were scheduled to participate in the test of visual synthetic ability. For this test, they were 135 randomly divided into eight groups Of four subjects each. The four subjects of each group were seated exactly ten feet from the center of the movie screen in order to control for the distance variable. It was felt that failure to control for this variable might affect significantly the results Obtained on the test Of visual synthetic ability, i.e. there might feasibly be some relationship between in- creased or decreased distance and the ability to synthesize visually the materials. The seating arrangement was semi- circular as outlined in Illustration I. Illustration I Subject Seating Arrangement for the Test Of Visual Synthesis and the Lipreading Test Center + Movie Screen 3.5,)(35'4 "_—“‘——Projector Prior to the administration Of any test stimuli, foot-candle measurements were taken at the center of the movie screen to assess the light intensity of the projector and tachistoscOpe. Also, foot-candle measurements were taken at the level Of the eyes of each subject. Thomas,1 lSharon Thomas, "Lipreading Performance as a Func- tion of Light Levels" (Unpublished Master's Thesis, Speech Department, Michigan State University, 1962), pp. 1-34. 135a in a study to assess lipreading performance as a function Of light levels, found a tendency, although non-significant, for lipreading efficiency to decrease as illumination level decreased. Thus the preceding procedure was carried out in order to assure that the differences between subjects' abilities to lipread and to synthesize visually the materials was a function of real differences between sub- jects and not day-to-day fluctuations in illuminating in- tensity of stimulus materials. For all subjects on both the test Of visual synthetic ability and the lipreading test, the mean foot-candle measurement at the center of the screen was 32 foot-candles. The mean foot-candle measurement at the eyes of the subjects for both tests was 12.5 foot-candles. A review Of the foot-candle measurements taken over all subjects for both tests revealed no systematic variation in illumination which could affect the results Of the study. For the administration of the test Of visual syn- thetic ability, the tachistoscope was placed on a table such that the distance from the lens aperture to the center Of the screen was 12 feet, eight inches. The base of the tachistoscope was 30 inches from the floor, and the dis- tance from the floor to the center Of the lens aperture was 38 inches. The stimulus materials were projected on a movie screen which measured 47 inches on a side. The size of the stimulus materials varied. For "Dotted Outlines" 136 figures the size was 15 inches high. Geometric Forms and Geometric Form Patterns were all seven inches high. The printed letters for the Deleted Sentences were three inches high, and those for Scattered Words and Common Words were four inches high. The stimulus slides were prepared by first placing the materials black-on-white on 4 x 6 filing cards. These materials were then transferred to 35 mm black and white slides by utilizing the photocopier. For each of the various subtests of the test Of visual synthesis, special response forms were prepared by the writer. These forms corresponded to the items Of the particular subtest and were filled out by each subject as the test Of visual synthesis was administered. The response forms are found in Appendix II. The following materials represent the directions which were presented orally by the examiner for each Of the subtests Of the visual synthetic instrument. Subtest I: Geometric Forms, Recognition Speed On this screen you will be viewing a number of forms which will be presented at brief exposure times. Before each presentation I will state the frame number corresponding to that on your response sheet, and I will say "Ready" which will alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. Remember these Slides will be presented at very fast rates and you must concentrate on recognizing the form which is presented. You will reSpond by drawing the form on your answer sheet. Respond to every frame which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware of the 137 form. It is not necessary that you be certain of your response and feel free to guess at all times. At this time a form (a figure 8) was placed on the black- board and a slide picturing the same figure 8 was projected twice at .002 sec., and twice at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the subject with the nature of the perceptual task. Subtest II: Geometric Form Patterns, Speed of Organizing Patterns On this screen you will be viewing a number Of forms on the same slide. Each slide will contain four forms which will be projected at brief exposure times. Before each presentation I will state the frame number corres- ponding to that on your response sheet and I will say "Ready" which should alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. You will respond by drawing the forms as they appear on the screen. Remember, these slides will be projected at extremely fast rates and you must concentrate on recognizing the four forms and their positions on the frame. Respond to every slide which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware of the four forms and their positions on the frame. It is not necessary that you be certain of your response and feel free to guess at any time. At this time four forms (a figure 8, an X, a capital D, and an oval) were drawn on the blackboard and a slide contain- ing these four items was projected twice at .002 sec., and twice at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the subject with the nature of the perceptual task. Subtest III: Common Words, Recognition Speed On this screen you will be viewing a number of common words which will be presented at brief exposure times. There will be no capitalized words. Before each presentation I will state the frame number 138 corresponding to that on your response sheet and I will say "Ready" which should alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. You will respond by writing the word on your answer sheet. Remember, these slides will be projected at extremely fast rates and you must concentrate on recognizing the word which is presented. Respond to every slide which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware of the word. It is not necessary that you be certain of your response and feel free to guess at all times. At this time the word "tie" was written on the board, and a slide containing this word was projected twice at .002 sec., and twice at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the subject with the nature of the perceptual task. Subtest IV: Scattered Letters, Speed of Organizing Words On this screen you will be viewing a number Of letters which will be presented at brief eXposure times. Before each presentation I will state the frame number corresponding to that on your response sheet and I will say "Ready" which should alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. You will respond by writing a common word composed of these letters. Remember these slides will be projected at extremely fast rates and you must concentrate on form- ing a word from the available letters. Respond to every slide which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware of the letters. It is not necessary that you be certain Of your response and feel free to guess at all times. At this time the word‘bar"was written in scattered fashion on the blackboard, and the same word was projected at .002 sec., and at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the subject with the nature of the perceptual task. 139 Subtest V: Scattered Words, Speed of Organizing Sentences On this screen you will be viewing a number Of words printed in a scattered fashion on the frame. These slides will be presented at brief eXposure times. Before each presentation I will state the frame number corresponding to that on your answer sheet and I will say "Ready" which should alert you to focus your un- divided visual attention on the screen. You will respond by assembling these words to form a meaningful sentence, and by writing the sentence on your response sheet. Remember, these slides will be projected at extremely rapid rates and you must concentrate on form- ing a sentence from the available words. Respond to every slide which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware of the words. It is not necessary that you be certain of your response and feel free to guess at all times. At this point the sentence "The bird flew away" was printed on the blackboard in a scattered fashion and a slide with this same sentence was projected twice at .002 sec. and twice at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the sub- ject with the nature of the perceptual task. Subtest VI: Deleted Sentences, Providing Missing Cues in a Verbal Context On this screen you will be viewing a number Of sentences which will be presented at brief eXposure times. There will be one or more letters missing from some Of the words in each sentence. Before each pre- sentation I will state the frame number corresponding to that on your response Sheet and I will say "Ready" which should alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. You will respond by mentally providing the letters which are missing and by writing the complete sentence on your response sheet. Remember, these slides will be projected at extremely fast rates and you must concentrate on recognizing the sentences which are presented. Respond to every Slide which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware Of the sentence. It is not necessary that you be certain of your reSponse and feel free to guess at all times. 140 At this point the sentence "I do not want to go" was printed on the blackboard with deleted letters, and the same sentence was projected twice at .002 sec. and twice at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the subject with the nature of the perceptual task. Subtest VII: Dotted Outlines, Speed Of Perceiving Letters and Digits from Disparate Elements On this screen you will see a number of dots which will be presented at brief exposure times. The dots are arranged so that they form either a capital letter or a digit. Before each presentation I will state the frame number correSponding to that on your response sheet and I will say "Ready" which should alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. You will respond by using all Of the dots shown in making either a capital letter or a digit. Remember, these slides will be projected at extremely fast rates and you must concentrate on recognizing either the letter or digit which is presented. Respond to every slide which is presented even if you are only vaguely aware of the form. It is not necessary that you be certain Of your response and feel free to guess at all times. At this point the dotted outline form "D" was drawn on the blackboard and this same form was projected twice at .002 sec. and twice at .04 sec. in order to familiarize the subject with the perceptual task. Subtest VIII: Object Recognition, Providing Missing Cues in a Non- Verbal Context On this screen you will be viewing pieces of some common Objects. I will show you all of the pieces of a common Object, however, at no time will you see the object assembled. Each time that I Show you the piece Of an Object you will attempt to determine what the Object is and write the answer on the response Sheet. 141 For example, I might project the stem of a pipe, part of the bowl, and the remainder of the bowl. If you are aware of the Object on the first presentation (the pipe stem) write the word "pipe" on your response sheet. Remember, write the Object name, not the name of the piece of the Object. In the example I have just given you, "pipe stem" would be considered an inapprOpriate response. Unlike the materials which have been pre- sented previously, you will have ample time to view each slide. Before each Slide is presented I will say "Ready" which will alert you to focus your undivided visual attention on the screen. Subtest IX: Picture Arrangement, Deriving the Whole on the Basis of Partial Cues The instructions for this subtest were given according to the standardized procedure recommended by Wechsler.l The directions were given as follows: DIRECTIONS For all subjects present the three cards Of item 1, NEST, in the order indicated by the numbers on the backs Of the cards, reading from the subject's left to right and say "These pictures tell a story about a bird building a nest, but they are in the wrong order. Put them in the right order so they will tell a story." . . . I have some other sets of pictures for you to arrange. In each case they are mixed up and you are to put them in the right order so that they make the most sensible story. It should be included that for all subjects, the example item was presented with one Of the cards missing. The following cards were randomly removed from each item of the "Picture Arrangement" subtest: lDavid Wechsler, Manual for the Wechgler Adult Intelligence Scale (New York: Psychological Corporatian, 1955), p. 49. 142 Number Of Number Specific Card (3) Item Total Cards Removed Removed NEST 3 1. W HOUSE 3 1 P HOLD-UP 4 1 C LOUIE 6 2 C,A ENTER 5 2 P , s FLIRT 5 2 E , 'r FISH 6 2 H,I TAXI 6 2 A,S It should be stated here that the inter-stimulus interval varied because subjects were instructed to write their responses and to look up at the screen upon complet- ing the writing. Also, if a subject commented that he was not ready when the examiner said "Ready" even though the subject might be looking up at screen, presentation Of the item was delayed until the subject had completed writing his response. This prevented any subject from failing an item because he was not alert and focused on the screen. Also, 10 or 15 minute breaks were taken every one and one- half hours during testing in order to keep subject fatigue at a minimum. For subtests one through seven of the test of visual synthesis presentation of items for each exposure time was randomized. It was originally intended to run one item through all exposure times before another item was to be presented. Thus, the hexagon, as an example, would be Shown at each exposure time before another item was pre- sented. However, this method was thought to introduce another variable, i.e. an additive cumulative effect. This 143 additive effect would tend to encourage the subject to respond only when he had received all the parts of any given frame. Randomization tended to circumvent the cumulative effect and encouraged spontaneous responses on the basis Of part information. In addition, in order to circumvent the effects of incidental learning, the order of presentation of subtests was randomized for each subject group. Following completion of the test Of visual synthetic ability, subject groups were re-scheduled to participate in the Utley Lipreading Test, How Well Can You Read Lips, Form A. Thus each subject participated in Part I, Sentence Test, Form A; Part II, Word Test, Form A; and, Part III, Story Test. The testing time for the test of visual synthesis was six hours per subject group divided into two three hour sessions. The time involved for participation in the lip- reading test was approximately 40 minutes. Thus, each subject participated in this research for a total time of six hours, 40 minutes. Scoring the Test of Visual Synthetic Ability.--For subtests one through seven the items were designed so that the shorter the eXposure time necessary to recognize and organize stimulus materials the higher the subject's score. Therefore, the following number of points was assigned to each specific eXposure time: 144 Time Points 1/500 sec. (.002) Subtest I, III, and VII 12 1/100 sec. ( .01) All Subtests 11 1/50 sec. ( .02) All Subtests 10 1/25 sec. ( .04) All Subtests 9 1/10 sec. ( .1) All Subtests 8 1/5 sec. ( .2) All Subtests 7 1/2 sec. ( .5) All Subtests 6 1 sec. All Subtests 5 2 sec. All Subtests 4 3 sec. All Subtests 3 4 sec. All Subtests 2 5 sec. All Subtests 1 For all of the subtests where the exposure time was varied, whenever a subject recorded a correct response for the first time at a given exposure time, he received the score which corresponded to that exposure time. At no other time did he receive points for that particular item. In short, if subject X correctly identified a circle at exposure time .002 sec., he received 12 points for that item. If he again recognized the circle at the rest of the remaining eXposure times he received no points. The following example, utilizing Subtest I, is presented in an effort to clarify the scoring procedure for varied exposure time subtests: 145 GEOMETRIC FORMS-- SUBJECT: DWK SUBTEST I: TIME .002 12 POINTS 1. Hexagon 12 Points 2. ------- 3. ------- 4. Semi-Circle 12 Points 5. ------- 6. ------- 7. ------- 8. ------- TIME .02 10 POINTS 1. Hexagon 2. Circle 10 Points 3. Semi-Circle 4. Trapezoid 5. Rectangle 6. Square 10 Points 7. Triangle 10 Points 8. Parallelogram 10 Points SUBJECT DWK TOTAL SCORE SUBTEST I For Subtest VIII, RECOGNITION SPEED TIME .01 11 POINTS 1. Parallelogram 11 Points 2. Rectangle 11 Points 11 Points 87 the fewer the number of frames required to identify the object correctly, the higher the subject's score. used to Show the pieces of a table. AS an example, there were Six frames If the subject correctly 146 identified the object as a table after only two frames were shown, he received a score of five points for this item. See the following example: Frame 1 -------- Table Leg ----- 6 points Frame 2 -------- Half Of Top---5 points Frame 3 -------- Table Leg ----- 4 points Frame 4 -------- Half of Top---3 points Frame 5 -------- Table Leg ----- 2 points Frame 6 -------- Table Leg ----- 1 point In short, the less information required to make a correct identification, the higher the score. For Subtest IX, the subject received one point for each picture which was correctly arranged in the prescribed time. The maximum number Of possible points for each sub- test is as follows: Subtest I: 96 points Subtest.II: 110 points Subtest III: 336 points Subtest IV: 220 points Subtest : 220 points Subtest VI: 330 points Subtest VII: 192 points Subtest VIII: 33 points Subtest IX: 25 points The following procedures recommended by Utley, were employed in scoring the lipreading test, How Well Can You Read Lips, Form A: 147 Part I: Sentence Test, Form A. One point is allowed for each correct word recorded. HomOpheneity of words is not considered. The highest possible total score on the Sentence Test is 125. Part II: Word Test, Form A. One point is allowed for each word, or a word homOphenous with that word, correctly recorded. The highest possible score for this test is 36. Part III: Story Test. One point is allowed for each correct answer recorded. The highest possible score for this test is 30. The correct responses for the lipreading test are included in Appendix III. The data for this research were in the form of total scores Obtained on each Of the individual subtests of the visual synthetic test and a total score for the entire test based on the sum Of the scores of the indivi- dual subtests. In addition, one point was recorded for each word correctly identified and each question correctly answered in the lipreading test. Also, a total score for each subject on the lipreading test was calculated by add- ing together all Of the points calculated by that subject. CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This chapter includes a presentation of the correlation coefficients obtained for the variables of the study, and also presents a discussion of the findings in relation to the null hypotheses set forth at the outset. The data were in the form of raw scores Obtained by 32 subjects on the test of visual synthesis and the raw scores Obtained by the same subjects on the filmed Utley Lipreading Test, How Well Can You Read Lips, Form A. Specifically, ten scores (nine subtests and a total score) were Obtained for each subject on the test of visual syn- thesis, and four scores (Sentences, Words, Stories, and a Total Score) were obtained for each subject on the lip- reading measure. The data were submitted tO a correlation analysis, and the results were presented in a correlation matrix of order 14.1 According to Guilford, a correlation matrix of order 14 is one where the number of rows equals the number of columns. Specifically, Pearson Product Moment 1J. P. Guilford, Psychometric Methods (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.), p. 479. 148 149 Correlations were computed between all possible combinations of the ten measures of visual synthesis, between all the possible combinations of the four measures Of lipreading, and between the ten measures of synthesis and four measures of lipreading. The correlations were calculated on a Control Data Corporation 3600 Digital Computer, employing the program "Calculation Of Basic Statistics on the BASTAT Routine."1 The results of these procedures are revealed in Table I. For 31 degrees of freedom a coefficient Of 0.361 or greater was significantly different from zero at the 0.05 level and one of 0.463 was significant at the 0.01 level. Of the 91 coefficients present in the matrix, 37 were statistically significant from zero at either the 0.05 or 0.01 level Of confidence. Twenty four of the sig- nificant coefficients were intercorrelations Obtained between the tests of synthesis and between these same tests and the total synthesis score. Referring to Table I, it can be seen that low to moderate correlations were Obtained between some of the individual subtests Of the synthetic instrument and between these same subtests and the total score. 1Michigan State University, Agricultural Experiment Station, "Calculation Of Basic Statistics on the BASTAT Routine," STAT Series Description Number 5 (March, 1966). 15C) Ho>oe do. on» o.ou0u acne acaueuaememee Ho>oe me. use a one» scum unaoeueemem. «such and»: .mmm. nowuoum and»: «swam. schme. OQHO3 mud»: «40mm. «hem. emov. muocoucom sod»: New. comm. cmmm. HHH. Hmuoe oeo. «mo. Ame. mos. mmN. .mmcmuu< muzuowm mme. Noe. see. «no. .mem. nee. uuooflno moo. vmm. mac. mmo. ccomo. mam. amen. mwocoucmm . pwuoamo ham. ecwmm. eeonv. mad. «anew. mom. NmN. 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