Optimal viewing position in vertically and horizontally presented Japanesewords

In the present study, the optimal viewing position (OVP) phenomenon in Japa nese Hiragana was investigated, with special reference to a comparison betw een the vertical and the horizontal meridians in the visual field. In the f irst experiment, word recognition scores were determined while the eyes wer e fixating predetermined locations in vertically and horizontally displayed words. Similar to what has been reported for Roman scripts, OVP curves, wh ich were asymmetric with respect to the beginning of words, were observed i n both conditions. However this asymmetry was less pronounced for verticall y than for horizontally displayed words. Zn the second experiment, the visi bility of individual character; within strings was examined for the vertica l and horizontal meridians. As for Roman characters, letter identification scores were better in the right than in the left visual field. However, ide ntification scores did not differ between the upper and the lower sides of fixation along the vertical meridian. The results showed that the model pro posed by Nazir, O'Regan, and Jacobs (1991) cannot entirely account for the OVP phenomenon. A model in which visual and lexical factors are combined is proposed instead.