Work

Parafoveal processing affects outgoing saccade length during the reading of Chinese.

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Participants' eye movements were measured while reading Chinese sentences in which target-word frequency and the availability of parafoveal processing were manipulated using a gaze-contingent boundary paradigm. The results of this study indicate that preview availability and its interaction with word frequency modulated the length of the saccades exiting the target words, suggesting important functional roles for parafoveal processing in determining where the eyes move during reading. The theoretical significance of these findings is discussed in relation to 2 current models of eye-movement control during reading, both of which assume that saccades are directed toward default targets (e.g., the center of the next unidentified word). A possible method for addressing these limitations (i.e., dynamic attention allocation) is also discussed.

Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition

DOI: 10.1037/xlm0000057

Authors: Yanping Liu, Erik D. Reichle, Xingshan Li

Institutions: University of Southampton, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Reading and Literacy Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Cognitive Load in the Bilingual Brain: Insights from Decoupled Reading, G6261225040