• Strokes counts• Number of constituents• JPEG picture complexity• Font size (only in Experiment 2)• Prototypicality based on an averaged image• Visually complex words are known to be processed slower (e.g., long words are read slowly)• However, the nature of the effect of visual complexity is not crystal-clear (e.g., a length effect
was in a U-shape non-linear function. See Baayen, 2005 and New et al., 2006).

• For Japanese/Chinese character recognition, a vast majority of studies considered stroke
counts in their analyses. A leftist bias was reported as well (Hsiao & Cottrell, 2009).

• This study investigated:• Whether the well-known stroke effect is best described by a linear or a quadratic function.
• Whether JPEG complexity contributes over and above stroke counts.
• Whether an image averaging technique used in face recognition research can be applied for• The classical measure of character strokes is insufficient to capture the full visualcomplexity relevant in Japanese logographic word recognition, in which words
are dynamically perceived both as an ordered set of strokes, as an ordered set ofconstituents, and as an image.

• A stroke effect was found to be positive decelerating in all tasks and quantitatively
Averaged US Presidents

Averaged Kanjis in Mincho and Gothic fonts
人耳話

響艦

人 耳 話

響 艦

words to derive a feature template (i.e., visual essence).

• How visual complexity variables contribute together with other lexical predictors.

more important than the other measures.

• A tripartite leftish bias was observed (rather than a binary leftish bias), which canbe interpreted as a prototypicality effect relevant only for native speakers.

• Words in larger fonts were responded more quickly than those in smaller fonts.
• Visual complexity variables interacted with lexical variables encoding familiarity.

1

2

MethodMethodMethodParticipantsParticipantsParticipants• 20 Japanese speakers• 21 non-native speakers• 20 Japanese speakers• 21 Japanese speakers

Stimuli

Stimuli

Stimuli• 300 randomly selected• Randomly selected 708 two-• 300 randomly selected
Japanese kanji characters

Japanese kanji characters(as in Experiment 1)

3

character words and 708
nonwords

Procedure

Procedure

Procedure• Participants rated visual• Participants were asked to• Participants judged whether

complexity of Japanese

identify a gradually

the presented words is akanjis using a 9-point scale

appearing word as quickly

legitimate word or a nonword(1 = simple, 9 = complex)

and accurately as possible.

as quickly as possible.

• 1st subgazes were analyzed.

Results• Stroke counts had a positive decelerating effect.
• JPEG complexity had an additive inhibitory effect.
• Prototypicality was a significant factor only for native Japanese speakers.
• Kanji frequency affects Japanese readers’ visual complexity ratings.
• Visual complexity ratings were lower for kanji characters responded slowly.

Results• Responses were faster for words in larger fonts (this may be counter-intuitive).
• A stroke effect was positive decelerating, as in Experiment 1.
• JPEG complexity facilitated for familiar kanji characters and inhibited forunfamiliar characters.

• JPEG complexity facilitated more prominently for prototypical kanji characters.
• Interestingly, familiarity and prototypicality behaved similarly.

Results• A stroke effect was positive decelerating, as in Experiments 1 and 2.
• JPEG complexity had an inhibitory effect on top of an effect of stroke counts.
• A number of constituents inhibited for unfamiliar characters.
• A number of constituents facilitated for prototypical kanji characters and inhibitedfor unfamiliar characters (see the same pattern in Experiment 1).

• Familiarity and prototypicality behaved similarly (see also Experiment 2).
Acknowledgment: This study was supported by the lzaak Walton Killam predoctoral grant from the Killam trusts to the first author.