Scrabble players read differently, researchers say

From CBC News: Scrabble players read differently, researchers say
Competitive Scrabble players process words differently than the rest of us, say researchers at the University of Calgary.

“Scrabble players have honed their ability to recognize words such that they have actually changed the process of reading words,” Ian Hargreaves, the lead researcher on the study, told the university's student news paper.

The goal of the study, the researchers said, was to determine whether the intense training techniques employed by players altered the way they read words.

“The average literate adult relies on three components to process and read a word: sound, spelling and meaning,” psychology Prof. Penny Pexman told the news paper. “When we studied the Scrabble players, we found that there is significant flexibility in the tools they use to read words and that it can include the orientation [vertical or horizontal] of the word as well.”

According to the study, Scrabble players were able to identify actual words over nonsensical words 20 per cent faster, an ability the researchers assigned to the hours the players spent studying studying the 180,000 words listed in The Official Tournament and Club Word List.

Betty Bergeron, who has been playing Scrabble for 11 years and took part in the study, agreed the game can sharpen word skills, but didn't think it made her smarter.
Strategy important

However, she added, her game has improved over time.

"I wouldn't say I'm smarter, it's just because the way we use the [letter] tiles," she said, describing the strategic way players add words to the board to maximize their score and minimize scoring opportunities for their opponents.

"When I first started I lost and lost all my games but I hung in there and hung in there and now I'm doing better."

Siri Tillekeratne, the head of the Calgary Scrabble Club, believes the competitive way the game combines word meanings and mathematics makes it special.

Tillekeratne, who also took part in the research study, is looking forward to October, when his club will host the 16th Western Canadian Championships .