Reduction of copying errors with selected alphanumeric subsets

Abstract

Studied effects of different combinations of letters and digits upon copying performance of 138 21-64 yr old housewives. Letter subsets of differing acoustic and visual confusability were selected for presentation with the digits 0-9. Subsets included (a) 4 "easy" subsets minimizing confusion, (b) 1 "difficult" subset, (c) a conventional subset, and (d) a subset testing all letters except I and O. Ss, who were tested in groups of 16-21, copied lists of 10 and 7 items derived from 1 of the subsets from both typescript and manuscript. Significantly fewer errors occurred with easy subsets. Difficult and conventional subsets were more accurately copied from manuscript than the 24-letter subset. The major source of error in copying from typescript or manuscript was visual confusion between specific pairs of items. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)