Effects of legibility on verbal test performance of older adults

Abstract

Each of 46 adults age 63 to 85 yr. (M = 74.9) was given one or another form of a verbal test consisting of 11 subtests: Names, Information, Similarities (analogies), Arithmetic, Distances, Same/Different, Spelling, Scrambled Sentences, True/False, Definitions, and Reverse Definitions. Half of the participants were given Form L, printed in 14-point England Times; the other half were given Form S, printed in 9-point Helvetica. The content of the two forms was identical. The group given Form L scored significantly higher on six of the 11 subtests and on total score, compared with the group given Form S. Implications for improvement of test performance by improving test legibility are briefly discussed.