Work

Learning to ignore distracters.

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: Eye tracking has indicated that older and young adults process distracters similarly when reading single sentences. The present study extended this approach by presenting short paragraphs, sentence by sentence. Eye tracking measures included reading times per word, and the duration of the first fixation and total fixations to the distracters and target words. Comprehension was tested following each paragraph, and recognition of distracters and target words was assessed. The results indicated that young adults were able to learn to ignore the distracters as they read through the paragraphs, whereas older adults were less successful at learning to ignore the distracters.

Source: Psychology and Aging

DOI: 10.1037/a0025578

Authors: Ellen Rozek, Susan Kemper, Joan McDowd

Institutions: University of Kansas, University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Missouri–Kansas City

Language: English

Topic: Reading and Literacy Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging

Award: Tracking older adults'eye movement while reading