# Exploring the Character Transposition Effect and Locus in Chinese Word Recognition: Evidence from Left–Right Visual Field Processing in Primary School Children

## TL;DR

This study explores how second-grade children recognize Chinese words when characters are transposed and finds a significant effect in their word recognition.

## Contribution

The study provides new developmental evidence on character transposition effects in Chinese word recognition among children.

## Key findings

- Second-grade children show a significant character transposition effect in recognizing two-character Chinese words.
- There is no significant difference in the transposition effect between the left and right visual fields.
- The findings offer implications for theories of position encoding in Chinese word reading.

## Abstract

Prior research has offered substantial evidence for letter transposition effect in word reading, yet studies in logographic languages such as Chinese are scarce and have largely focused on adults. This study aimed to determine whether second-grade children show character transposition effect impact in recognizing two-character Chinese words and to examine potential differences between the left and right visual fields corresponding to the two cerebral hemispheres. A lexical decision task was used across two experiments. Experiment 1 tested 56 second graders and manipulated three stimulus types—normal words, Transposed pseudo-words, and Substituted pseudo-words—to verify the presence of the effect. Experiment 2 recruited an independent sample of 97 second graders and applied a lateralized presentation paradigm, presenting stimuli to either the right or left visual field (RVF/LVF), which project to the left and right hemispheres (LH/RH), respectively, to assess hemispheric differences. Experiment 1 revealed a significant character transposition effect among second-grade children. Experiment 2 showed no significant differences in the magnitude of the effect between the two visual fields. These findings provide new developmental evidence for Chinese word reading and important implications for theories of position encoding. Future studies should trace its developmental trajectory across a wider age range and diverse learning contexts.