Eye movement guidance in reading: the role of parafoveal letter and space information.

The relation between parafoveal letter and space information in eye movement guidance during reading was investigated in 2 experiments. Contingent upon the reader's fixation, the type of parafoveal information available to the right of fixation was varied by (a) space information only, (b) space information with letter information added at some delay, or (c) letter and space information simultaneously. In addition, the onset of the relevant parafoveal information was delayed between 0 and 250 ms into the fixation. The time course of processing the 2 types of information (letters or spaces) differed, as did the nature of their impact on the eye movement record. Although both letter and space information influenced saccade length and initial landing positions within words, only letter information had an effect on fixation duration. In addition, fixation duration was affected only by information entering within the first 50 ms of the fixation, whereas saccade length was affected by information arriving at any time during the fixation. The results are consistent with a model of eye movement control in which 2 independent processes are operating in tandem to determine when and where to move the eyes during reading.

[1]  L. Kaufman,et al.  Spontaneous fixation tendencies for visual forms , 1969 .

[2]  F. L. Engel.  Visual conspicuity, directed attention and retinal locus. , 1971, Vision research.

[3]  G. McConkie,et al.  The span of the effective stimulus during a fixation in reading , 1975 .

[4]  K. Rayner.  The perceptual span and peripheral cues in reading , 1975, Cognitive Psychology.

[5]  G. McConkie,et al.  What guides a reader's eye movements? , 1976, Vision Research.

[6]  K. Rayner.  Eye movements in reading and information processing. , 1978, Psychological bulletin.

[7]  Mitsuo Ikeda,et al.  Span of recognition in reading , 1978, Vision Research.

[8]  K. Rayner.  Eye Guidance in Reading: Fixation Locations within Words , 1979, Perception.

[9]  Kevin O’Regan,et al.  Saccade size control in reading: Evidence for the linguistic control hypothesis , 1979, Perception & psychophysics.

[10]  K Rayner,et al.  Reading without a fovea. , 1979, Science.

[11]  K. Rayner,et al.  Asymmetry of the effective visual field in reading , 1980, Perception & psychophysics.

[12]  J. Kevin O’Regan,et al.  The control of saccade size and fixation duration in reading: The limits of linguistic control , 1980, Perception & psychophysics.

[13]  K. Rayner,et al.  Contextual effects on word perception and eye movements during reading , 1981 .

[14]  K. Rayner,et al.  Eye Movement Control during Reading: Evidence for Direct Control , 1981, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology.

[15]  J. H. Bertera,et al.  Masking of foveal and parafoveal vision during eye fixations in reading. , 1981, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[16]  J. H. Bertera,et al.  The availability of useful information to the right of fixation in reading , 1982, Perception & psychophysics.

[17]  D. F. Fisher,et al.  Eye movements : cognition and visual perception , 1982 .

[18]  Alexander Pollatsek,et al.  Eye movement control in reading: The role of word boundaries. , 1982 .

[19]  K. Rayner,et al.  Eye Movements in Reading: Perceptual and Language Processes , 1985 .

[20]  R. B. Freeman,et al.  Cognition and Motor Processes , 1983 .

[21]  J. O'Regan,et al.  Convenient fixation location within isolated words of different length and structure. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[22]  R. E. Morrison,et al.  Manipulation of stimulus onset delay in reading: evidence for parallel programming of saccades. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[23]  D. Balota,et al.  The interaction of contextual constraints and parafoveal visual information in reading , 1985, Cognitive Psychology.

[24]  G W McConkie,et al.  Some temporal characteristics of processing during reading. , 1985, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[25]  D. Balota,et al.  Inferences about eye movement control from the perceptual span in reading , 1986, Perception & psychophysics.

[26]  K. Rayner,et al.  Parafoveal word processing during eye fixations in reading: Effects of word frequency , 1986, Perception & psychophysics.

[27]  P. W. Kerr,et al.  Eye movement control during reading: I. The location of initial eye fixations on words , 1987, Vision Research.

[28]  Keith Rayner,et al.  Parafoveal preview effects and lexical access during eye fixations in reading , 1989 .

[29]  H. Blanchard,et al.  The acquisition of parafoveal word information in reading , 1989, Perception & psychophysics.

[30]  David A. Balota.  Comprehension Processes in Reading. , 1990 .