tachistoscope

[ tuh-kis-tuh-skohp ]

noun

, Psychology.

1. an apparatus for use in exposing visual stimuli, as pictures, letters, or words, for an extremely brief period, used chiefly to assess visual perception or to increase reading speed.

tachistoscope

/ təˌkɪstəˈskɒpɪk; təˈkɪstəˌskəʊp /

noun

1. an instrument, used mainly in experiments on perception and memory, for displaying visual images for very brief intervals, usually a fraction of a second

Derived Forms

• taˌchistoˈscopically, adverb
• tachistoscopic, adjective

Other Words From

• ta·chis·to·scop·ic [t, uh, -kis-t, uh, -, skop, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tachistoscope¹

1905–10; < Greek táchist ( os ), superlative of tachýs swift + -o- + scope

Word History and Origins

Origin of tachistoscope¹

C20: from Greek takhistos swiftest (see tachy- ) + -scope

Example Sentences

Gadi Geiger and Jerome Lettvin, cognitive scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used a mechanical shutter, called a tachistoscope, to briefly flash a row of letters extending from the center of a subject’s field of vision out to its perimeter.

From Time

W.J. came into the Sperry lab from his home in Southern California to find Gazzaniga waiting with a tachistoscope, a device that could present visual stimuli for specific periods of time—and, crucially, could present a stimulus to the right side or the left side of each eye separately.

From Scientific American