A keyboard&#39;s arrangement could have an impact on how we think about the words we type.
The QWERTY keyboard may attach more positive meanings to words with more letters on the right side of the layout. Letter combinations that fall on the right side of the keyboard are easier to type, lending a positive meaning.

The impact of the QWERTY keyboard

Communication

Early typewriters frequently jammed. When letters were typed in rapid succession, they sometimes stuck together.
The QWERTY layout was invented in 1878 as a response to this problem. The layout has stuck ever since. With the transition from typewriters to personal computers, it became widespread.

How the QWERTY layout appeared

It should be noted that the literal meanings of words certainly outweigh their QWERTY inflected association.
In several languages, there are keyboard variations with unique punctuation keys located in different places. There are also more letters on the right than the left. In the future, researchers plan to study the effects of other kinds of keyboards.

Keyboard variations

<div>A keyboard's arrangement could have a small but significant impact to how we perceive the meaning of words we type.</div><img src="https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2012/03/qwerty-typewriter-flickr-eelke-dekker-660x440.jpg" alt="" title="qwerty-typewriter-flickr-eelke-dekker" width="483" height="322">UPDATE: The results of the QWERTY study described in this story were questioned by independent researchers, and the study authors have responded to the criticisms. See note below.A keyboard's arrangement could have a small but significant impact on how we perceive the meaning of words we type.Specifically, the QWERTY keyboard may gradually attach more positive meanings to words with more letters located on the right side of the layout (everything to the right of T, G and B)."We know how a word is spoken can affect its meaning. So can how it's typed," said cognitive scientist <a data-event-click="{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;http://www.kylejasmin.com/&quot;}" href="http://www.kylejasmin.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" dir="ltr">Kyle Jasmin</a> of the University of College London, co-author of a study about the so-called "QWERTY effect" in <a data-event-click="{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0229-7&quot;}" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0229-7" rel="nofollow noopener" dir="ltr">Psychonomic Bulletin and Review</a>. "As we filter language, hundreds or thousands of words, through our fingers, we seem to be connecting the meanings of the words with the physical way they're typed on the keyboard."The effect may arise from the fact that letter combinations that fall on the right side of the keyboard tend to be easier to type than those on the left."If it's easy, it tends to lend a positive meaning. If it's harder, it can go the other way," Jasmin said.The QWERTY layout <a data-event-click="{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7373(83)80010-8&quot;}" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7373(83)80010-8" rel="nofollow noopener" dir="ltr">dates back</a> to <a data-event-click="{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;http://www.google.com/patents?id=8F1HAAAAEBAJ&amp;zoom=4&amp;dq=ininventor%3A%22LATHAM%20SHOLES%22&amp;pg=PA2#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false&quot;}" href="http://www.google.com/patents?id=8F1HAAAAEBAJ&amp;zoom=4&amp;dq=ininventor%3A%22LATHAM%20SHOLES%22&amp;pg=PA2#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noopener" dir="ltr">August 1878</a>. Until then, early typewriters frequently jammed because some letters sat too close to one other on the keyboard. When typed in rapid succession, they sometimes stuck together.<BLOCKQUOTE>‘Technology changes words, and by association languages.’</BLOCKQUOTE>In response, inventors created the QWERTY layout and sold it to the Remington company. The layout has stuck ever since, and with the transition from typewriters to personal computers, it became ubiquitous.Jasmin and his colleague <a data-event-click="{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;http://www.casasanto.com/&quot;}" href="http://www.casasanto.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" dir="ltr">Daniel Casasanto</a>, a social psychologist at the New School for Social Research, knew from previous research that the difficulty of using an object affected how positively or negatively people viewed it.The effect is called fluency, and it even seems to affect abstractions such as people's names. The <a href="https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/name-pronunciation-success/" dir="ltr">more difficult it is to pronounce a person's name</a>, for example, the less positively we might view that person.Tougher-to-type letter pairs tend to be found on a QWERTY keyboard's left side, so Jasmin and Casasanto set out to explore the effects of fluency on typing and language."People are faster to type with their right hand than their left hand," Jasmin said. "Combined with the fact that keyboard is asymmetrical, with more letters on left than the right, we had to know if there was correlation there."<div>Trending Now</div>

A keyboard's arrangement could have a small but significant impact to how we perceive the meaning of words we type.

UPDATE: The results of the QWERTY study described in this story were questioned by independent researchers, and the study authors have responded to the criticisms. See note below.

A keyboard's arrangement could have a small but significant impact on how we perceive the meaning of words we type.

Specifically, the QWERTY keyboard may gradually attach more positive meanings to words with more letters located on the right side of the layout (everything to the right of T, G and B).

"We know how a word is spoken can affect its meaning. So can how it's typed," said cognitive scientist <a data-event-click='{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"http://www.kylejasmin.com/"}' dir="ltr" href="http://www.kylejasmin.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Kyle Jasmin </a>of the University of College London, co-author of a study about the so-called "QWERTY effect" in <a data-event-click='{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0229-7"}' dir="ltr" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0229-7" rel="nofollow noopener">Psychonomic Bulletin and Review </a> . "As we filter language, hundreds or thousands of words, through our fingers, we seem to be connecting the meanings of the words with the physical way they're typed on the keyboard."

The effect may arise from the fact that letter combinations that fall on the right side of the keyboard tend to be easier to type than those on the left.

"If it's easy, it tends to lend a positive meaning. If it's harder, it can go the other way," Jasmin said.

The QWERTY layout <a data-event-click='{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7373(83)80010-8"}' dir="ltr" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7373(83)80010-8" rel="nofollow noopener">dates back </a>to <a data-event-click='{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"http://www.google.com/patents?id=8F1HAAAAEBAJ&amp;zoom=4&amp;dq=ininventor%3A%22LATHAM%20SHOLES%22&amp;pg=PA2#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false"}' dir="ltr" href="http://www.google.com/patents?id=8F1HAAAAEBAJ&amp;zoom=4&amp;dq=ininventor%3A%22LATHAM%20SHOLES%22&amp;pg=PA2#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noopener">August 1878 </a>. Until then, early typewriters frequently jammed because some letters sat too close to one other on the keyboard. When typed in rapid succession, they sometimes stuck together.

‘Technology changes words, and by association languages.’

In response, inventors created the QWERTY layout and sold it to the Remington company. The layout has stuck ever since, and with the transition from typewriters to personal computers, it became ubiquitous.

Jasmin and his colleague <a data-event-click='{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"http://www.casasanto.com/"}' dir="ltr" href="http://www.casasanto.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Daniel Casasanto </a>, a social psychologist at the New School for Social Research, knew from previous research that the difficulty of using an object affected how positively or negatively people viewed it.

The effect is called fluency, and it even seems to affect abstractions such as people's names. The <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/name-pronunciation-success/">more difficult it is to pronounce a person's name </a>, for example, the less positively we might view that person.

Tougher-to-type letter pairs tend to be found on a QWERTY keyboard's left side, so Jasmin and Casasanto set out to explore the effects of fluency on typing and language.

"People are faster to type with their right hand than their left hand," Jasmin said. "Combined with the fact that keyboard is asymmetrical, with more letters on left than the right, we had to know if there was correlation there."

Bite‑sized knowledge
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The QWERTY Effect: How Typing May Shape the Meaning of Words

The impact of the QWERTY keyboard

How the QWERTY layout appeared

Keyboard variations

Why Am I Sp Bad At Typign?

Semantic Change: How Words Evolve Over Time

Visualizing the Meaning of Life: The Drip Coffee Model

Bite‑sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

The QWERTY Effect: How Typing May Shape the Meaning of Words

The impact of the QWERTY keyboard

How the QWERTY layout appeared

Keyboard variations

Why Am I Sp Bad At Typign?

Semantic Change: How Words Evolve Over Time

Visualizing the Meaning of Life: The Drip Coffee Model

Bite‑sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career