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Jordan TR, McGowan VA, Kurtev S, Paterson KB. Investigating the Effectiveness of Spatial Frequencies to the Left and Right of Central Vision during Reading: Evidence from Reading Times and Eye Movements. Front Psychol 2017; 8:807. [PMID: 28769827 PMCID: PMC5513974 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Printed words are complex visual stimuli containing a range of different spatial frequencies, and several studies have suggested that various spatial frequencies are effective for skilled adult reading. But while it is well known that the area of text from which information is acquired during reading extends to the left and right of each fixation, the effectiveness of spatial frequencies falling each side of fixation has yet to be determined. To investigate this issue, we used a spatial frequency adaptation of the gaze-contingent moving-window paradigm in which sentences were shown to skilled adult readers either entirely as normal or filtered to contain only low, medium, or high spatial frequencies except for a window of normal text around each point of fixation. Windows replaced filtered text either symmetrically 1 character to the left and right of each fixated character, or asymmetrically, 1 character to the left and 7 or 13 to the right, or 1 character to the right and 7 or 13 to the left. Reading times and eye-movement measures showed that reading performance for sentences presented entirely as normal generally changed very little with filtered displays when windows extended to the right but was often disrupted when windows extended to the left. However, asymmetrical windows affected performance on both sides of fixation. Indeed, increasing the leftward extent of windows from 7 to 13 characters produced decreases in both reading times and fixation durations, suggesting that reading was influenced by the spatial frequency content of leftward areas of text some considerable distance from fixation. Overall, the findings show that while a range of different spatial frequencies can be used by skilled adult readers, the effectiveness of spatial frequencies differs for text on each side of central vision, and may reflect different roles played by these two areas of text during reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy R Jordan
- Department of Psychology, Zayed UniversityDubai, United Arab Emirates
| | - Victoria A McGowan
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Behaviour, University of LeicesterLeicester, United Kingdom
| | - Stoyan Kurtev
- Centre for Research in Psychology, Behaviour and Achievement, Coventry UniversityCoventry, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin B Paterson
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Behaviour, University of LeicesterLeicester, United Kingdom
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Li L, Li S, Wang J, McGowan VA, Liu P, Jordan TR, Paterson KB. Aging and the optimal viewing position effect in visual word recognition: Evidence from English. Psychol Aging 2017; 32:367-376. [PMID: 28406653 PMCID: PMC5459221 DOI: 10.1037/pag0000163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Words are recognized most efficiently by young adults when fixated at an optimal viewing position (OVP), which for English is between a word’s beginning and middle letters. How this OVP effect changes with age is unknown but may differ for older adults due to visual declines in later life. Accordingly, a lexical decision experiment was conducted in which short (5-letter) and long (9-letter) words were fixated at various letter positions. The older adults produced slower responses. But, crucially, effects of fixation location for each word-length did not differ substantially across age groups, indicating that OVP effects are preserved in older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Li
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University
| | - Sha Li
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University
| | - Jingxin Wang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University
| | - Victoria A McGowan
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester
| | - Pingping Liu
- Centre on Aging Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
| | - Timothy R Jordan
- Cognition and Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Zayed University Dubai
| | - Kevin B Paterson
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester
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Abstract
The finding that word length plays a fundamental role in determining where and for how long readers fixate within a line of text has been central to the development of sophisticated models of eye movement control. However, research in this area is dominated by the use of Latinate languages (e.g., English, French, German), and little is known about eye movement control for alphabetic languages with very different visual characteristics. To address this issue, the present experiment undertook a novel investigation of the influence of word length on eye movement behavior when reading Arabic. Arabic is an alphabetic language that not only is read from right to left but has visual characteristics fundamentally different from Latinate languages, and so is ideally suited to testing the generality of mechanisms of eye movement control. The findings reveal that readers were more likely to fixate and refixate longer words, and also that longer words tended to be fixated for longer. In addition, word length influenced the landing positions of initial fixations on words, with the effect that readers fixated the center of short words and fixated closer to the beginning letters for longer words, and the location of landing positions affected both the duration of the first fixation and probability of refixating the word. The indication now, therefore, is that effects of word length are a widespread and fundamental component of reading and play a central role in guiding eye-movement behavior across a range of very different alphabetic systems.
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Reading direction and the central perceptual span: evidence from Arabic and English. Psychon Bull Rev 2015; 21:505-11. [PMID: 24065283 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-013-0510-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In English and other alphabetic languages read from left to right, useful information acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend much further to the right of each fixation than to the left. However, the asymmetry of the perceptual span for alphabetic languages read in the opposite direction (i.e., from right to left) has received very little attention in empirical research. Accordingly, we investigated the perceptual span for Arabic, which is one of the world's most widely read languages and is read from right to left, using a gaze-contingent window paradigm in which a region of text was displayed normally around each point of fixation, while text outside this region was obscured. Skilled Arabic readers who were bilingual in Arabic and English read Arabic and English sentences while a window of normal text extended symmetrically 0.5(o) to the left and right of fixation or asymmetrically, by increasing this window to 1.5(o) or 2.5(o) to either the left or the right. When English was read, performance across window conditions was superior when windows extended rightward. However, when Arabic was read, performance was superior when windows extended leftward and was essentially the reverse of that observed for English. These findings show for the first time that a leftward asymmetry in the central perceptual span occurs when Arabic is read and, for the first time in over 30 years, provide a new indication that the perceptual span for alphabetic languages is modified by the overall direction of reading.
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Liu P, Liu D, Han B, Paterson KB. Aging and the optimal viewing position effect in Chinese. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1656. [PMID: 26579039 PMCID: PMC4624857 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Substantial evidence indicates that where readers fixate within a word affects the efficiency with which that word is recognized. Indeed, words in alphabetic languages (e.g., English, French) are recognized most efficiently when fixated at their optimal viewing position (OVP), which is near the word center. However, little is known about the effects of fixation location on word recognition in non-alphabetic languages, such as Chinese. Moreover, studies to date have not investigated if effects of fixation location vary across adult age-groups, although it is well-established that older readers experience greater difficulty recognizing words due to visual and cognitive declines. Accordingly, the present research examined OVP effects by young and older adult readers when recognizing Chinese words presented in isolation. Most words in Chinese are formed from two or more logograms called characters and so the present experiment investigated the influence of fixation location on the recognition of 2-, 3-, and 4-character words (and nonwords). The older adults experienced generally greater word recognition difficulty. But whereas the young adults recognized words most efficiently when initially fixating the first character of 2-character words and second character of 3- and 4-character words, the older adults recognized words most efficiently when initially fixating the first character for words of each length. The findings therefore reveal subtle but potentially important adult age differences in the effects of fixation location on Chinese word recognition. Moreover, the similarity in effects for words and nonwords implies a more general age-related change in oculomotor strategy when processing Chinese character-strings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pingping Liu
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Centre on Aging Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Danlu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Centre on Aging Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Buxin Han
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Centre on Aging Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Kevin B Paterson
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, College of Medicine, Biological Sciences, and Psychology, University of Leicester Leicester, UK
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Jordan TR, Sheen M, Abedipour L, Paterson KB. Visual speech perception in foveal and extrafoveal vision: further implications for divisions in hemispheric projections. PLoS One 2014; 9:e98273. [PMID: 25032950 PMCID: PMC4102446 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Accepted: 04/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
When observing a talking face, it has often been argued that visual speech to the left and right of fixation may produce differences in performance due to divided projections to the two cerebral hemispheres. However, while it seems likely that such a division in hemispheric projections exists for areas away from fixation, the nature and existence of a functional division in visual speech perception at the foveal midline remains to be determined. We investigated this issue by presenting visual speech in matched hemiface displays to the left and right of a central fixation point, either exactly abutting the foveal midline or else located away from the midline in extrafoveal vision. The location of displays relative to the foveal midline was controlled precisely using an automated, gaze-contingent eye-tracking procedure. Visual speech perception showed a clear right hemifield advantage when presented in extrafoveal locations but no hemifield advantage (left or right) when presented abutting the foveal midline. Thus, while visual speech observed in extrafoveal vision appears to benefit from unilateral projections to left-hemisphere processes, no evidence was obtained to indicate that a functional division exists when visual speech is observed around the point of fixation. Implications of these findings for understanding visual speech perception and the nature of functional divisions in hemispheric projection are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lily Abedipour
- School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Kevin B. Paterson
- School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
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Paterson KB, McGowan VA, White SJ, Malik S, Abedipour L, Jordan TR. Reading direction and the central perceptual span in Urdu and English. PLoS One 2014; 9:e88358. [PMID: 24586316 PMCID: PMC3934859 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2013] [Accepted: 11/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Normal reading relies on the reader making a series of saccadic eye movements along lines of text, separated by brief fixational pauses during which visual information is acquired from a region of text. In English and other alphabetic languages read from left to right, the region from which useful information is acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend further to the right of each fixation than to the left. However, the asymmetry of the perceptual span for alphabetic languages read in the opposite direction (i.e., from right to left) has received much less attention. Accordingly, in order to more fully investigate the asymmetry in the perceptual span for these languages, the present research assessed the influence of reading direction on the perceptual span for bilingual readers of Urdu and English. Methods and Findings Text in Urdu and English was presented either entirely as normal or in a gaze-contingent moving-window paradigm in which a region of text was displayed as normal at the reader's point of fixation and text outside this region was obscured. The windows of normal text extended symmetrically 0.5° of visual angle to the left and right of fixation, or asymmetrically by increasing the size of each window to 1.5° or 2.5° to either the left or right of fixation. When participants read English, performance for the window conditions was superior when windows extended to the right. However, when reading Urdu, performance was superior when windows extended to the left, and was essentially the reverse of that observed for English. Conclusion These findings provide a novel indication that the perceptual span is modified by the language being read to produce an asymmetry in the direction of reading and show for the first time that such an asymmetry occurs for reading Urdu.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin B. Paterson
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Victoria A. McGowan
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah J. White
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Sameen Malik
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Lily Abedipour
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy R. Jordan
- College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
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Does a paper's country of origin affect the length of the review process? Cortex 2012; 48:945-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2012] [Accepted: 05/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Jordan TR, Fuggetta G, Paterson KB, Kurtev S, Xu M. An ERP assessment of hemispheric projections in foveal and extrafoveal word recognition. PLoS One 2011; 6:e23957. [PMID: 21935368 PMCID: PMC3174137 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2011] [Accepted: 08/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The existence and function of unilateral hemispheric projections within foveal vision may substantially affect foveal word recognition. The purpose of this research was to reveal these projections and determine their functionality. Methodology Single words (and pseudowords) were presented to the left or right of fixation, entirely within either foveal or extrafoveal vision. To maximize the likelihood of unilateral projections for foveal displays, stimuli in foveal vision were presented away from the midline. The processing of stimuli in each location was assessed by combining behavioural measures (reaction times, accuracy) with on-line monitoring of hemispheric activity using event-related potentials recorded over each hemisphere, and carefully-controlled presentation procedures using an eye-tracker linked to a fixation-contingent display. Principal Findings Event-related potentials 100–150 ms and 150–200 ms after stimulus onset indicated that stimuli in extrafoveal and foveal locations were projected unilaterally to the hemisphere contralateral to the presentation hemifield with no concurrent projection to the ipsilateral hemisphere. These effects were similar for words and pseudowords, suggesting this early division occurred before word recognition. Indeed, event-related potentials revealed differences between words and pseudowords 300–350 ms after stimulus onset, for foveal and extrafoveal locations, indicating that word recognition had now occurred. However, these later event-related potentials also revealed that the hemispheric division observed previously was no longer present for foveal locations but remained for extrafoveal locations. These findings closely matched the behavioural finding that foveal locations produced similar performance each side of fixation but extrafoveal locations produced left-right asymmetries. Conclusions These findings indicate that an initial division in unilateral hemispheric projections occurs in foveal vision away from the midline but is not apparent, or functional, when foveal word recognition actually occurs. In contrast, the division in unilateral hemispheric projections that occurs in extrafoveal locations is still apparent, and is functional, when extrafoveal word recognition takes place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy R Jordan
- Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
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