Peer-reviewed research
Perceptual, cognitive, and motoric aspects of transcription typing
Timothy A. Salthouse, Psychological Bulletin, 1986
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A review article that organizes decades of laboratory research on transcription typing into four processing stages: input, parsing, translation and execution. It covers eye-hand span, keystroke timing and differences between skilled and less skilled typists.
- How much weight it carries
- A widely cited review in a major psychology journal, by a leading researcher on cognitive aging and skill. It summarizes small laboratory studies published before 1986, so its numbers describe those samples rather than typists today.
Facts taken from this source
- Salthouse's 1986 review puts the eye-hand span of average to excellent typists at three to seven characters, meaning how far the eyes run ahead of the key being pressed.
“ranges between three and seven characters for average to excellent typists” (Page 1 of the eye-hand span discussion)
- Salthouse's 1986 review reports that the eye-hand span is larger as typists become more skilled.
“span is larger with increased skill. This phenomenon was first reported by Butsch (1932)” (Discussion of eye-hand span)