word superiority effect

n. The faster recognition of letters when presented as part of a word than when presented alone. Thus if a subject sees rapid presentations of stimuli and is asked to determine whether the letter x is present, it will be easier for him or her to assess the presence of the letter x accurately if it is imbedded in the word next than if it is presented by itself. This is an interesting finding in research on reading in which it had been assumed that individual letter recognition was the process by which reading occurs.