THE ROLE OF VISUAL-IMAGERY IN SPELLING

Current models of spelling posit that information from the orthographi c output buffer can be translated into physical letter codes for writt en output or into name letter codes for spoken output. It is not known , at present, whether or not visualization of these codes is necessary to spell or recognize orally spelled words. We report a 73-year-old w oman who could spell words better than she could image them and who de monstrated near flawless recognition of orally spelled words. We concl ude that visual imagery is not necessary to either spell or recognize orally spelled words. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.