Anagram solution times: A function of the "Ruleout" factor.

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Abstract
Anagram solution may be considered to be a process in which an S permutes in an algorithmic fashion all letters in the anagram. However, Ss may find it possible to "rule out" certain permutations because attempting these permutations is highly unlikely to yield an English word. 20 adult Ss were presented with 20 5-letter anagrams in a 20 X 20 Latin square. Ss were randomly assigned to sequences. The anagrams were chosen from 2 levels of frequency on the basis of the Thorndike-Lorge (1944) count. At each frequency level 5 of the words were "high" ruleout, i.e., permitted elimination of 90-94 of the possible 120 permutations and 5 were "low" ruleout, permitting elimination of 70-76 of the permutations. Anagrams with "high" ruleout totals were solved significantly more rapidly (p < .01) at both frequency levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

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