A Stimulus-Response Analysis of Letter Reversals

Abstract

Kindergarten, first, second, and third grade children (n = 36 per grade level) gave eight types of responses to five categories of letter stimuli, including high and low confusion capital and lower-case letters and frequently reversed letters. An error analysis of these normative data revealed that reversal letters produced more errors than other types of graphic stimuli only for kindergarten children. There was a similar pattern of errors in response to both reversal and other types of letter stimuli: Number of errors deceased as grade level increased; there were no sex differences; and the eight response types produced differing numbers of errors. It was suggested that letter reversals be remediated by first ascertaining the response modes in which letter reversals occur for each child. © 1975, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.