1
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Xu L, Liu S, Wang S, Sun D, Li N. Word's Predictability Can Modulate Semantic Preview Effect in High-Constraint Sentences. Front Psychol 2022; 13:849351. [PMID: 35401306 PMCID: PMC8984147 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.849351] [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: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The processing of words in sentence reading is influenced by both information from sentential context (the effect of predictability) and information from previewing upcoming words (the preview effect), but how both effects interact during online reading is not clear. In this study, we tested the interaction of predictability effect and the preview effect in predicting reading processing. In the experiment, sentence constraint was controlled using all high-constraint sentences as materials. We manipulated both the predictability of the target word in the sentence and the semantic relationship between the preview word and the target word as predictors of the semantic preview effect. The results showed that the semantic preview effect was present only when the target word had low-predictability in the sentence but was not observed when the target word had high-predictability in the sentence. The results suggest that contextual information in reading can modulate the pre-activation of words and thus influence whether the preview word has a priming effect. The results of this study provide further evidence that reading comprehension involves an interactive system of processing multiple sources of information at multiple levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liling Xu
- School of Foreign Studies, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Language Cognition and Assessment, Guangzhou, China
| | - Sui Liu
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dongxia Sun
- Guangdong Country Garden Polytechnic, Qingyuan, China
| | - Nan Li
- School of Foreign Studies, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- Center for Language Cognition and Assessment, Guangzhou, China
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2
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AlJassmi MA, Warrington KL, McGowan VA, White SJ, Paterson KB. Effects of word predictability on eye movements during Arabic reading. Atten Percept Psychophys 2022; 84:10-24. [PMID: 34632557 PMCID: PMC8795001 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02375-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Contextual predictability influences both the probability and duration of eye fixations on words when reading Latinate alphabetic scripts like English and German. However, it is unknown whether word predictability influences eye movements in reading similarly for Semitic languages like Arabic, which are alphabetic languages with very different visual and linguistic characteristics. Such knowledge is nevertheless important for establishing the generality of mechanisms of eye-movement control across different alphabetic writing systems. Accordingly, we investigated word predictability effects in Arabic in two eye-movement experiments. Both produced shorter fixation times for words with high compared to low predictability, consistent with previous findings. Predictability did not influence skipping probabilities for (four- to eight-letter) words of varying length and morphological complexity (Experiment 1). However, it did for short (three- to four-letter) words with simpler structures (Experiment 2). We suggest that word-skipping is reduced, and affected less by contextual predictability, in Arabic compared to Latinate alphabetic reading, because of specific orthographic and morphological characteristics of the Arabic script.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam A AlJassmi
- Department of Psychology, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE.
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
| | - Kayleigh L Warrington
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Trent, UK
| | - Victoria A McGowan
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Sarah J White
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Kevin B Paterson
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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3
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Torres D, Sena WR, Carmona HA, Moreira AA, Makse HA, Andrade JS. Eye-tracking as a proxy for coherence and complexity of texts. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260236. [PMID: 34898624 PMCID: PMC8668102 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading is a complex cognitive process that involves primary oculomotor function and high-level activities like attention focus and language processing. When we read, our eyes move by primary physiological functions while responding to language-processing demands. In fact, the eyes perform discontinuous twofold movements, namely, successive long jumps (saccades) interposed by small steps (fixations) in which the gaze “scans” confined locations. It is only through the fixations that information is effectively captured for brain processing. Since individuals can express similar as well as entirely different opinions about a given text, it is therefore expected that the form, content and style of a text could induce different eye-movement patterns among people. A question that naturally arises is whether these individuals’ behaviours are correlated, so that eye-tracking while reading can be used as a proxy for text subjective properties. Here we perform a set of eye-tracking experiments with a group of individuals reading different types of texts, including children stories, random word generated texts and excerpts from literature work. In parallel, an extensive Internet survey was conducted for categorizing these texts in terms of their complexity and coherence, considering a large number of individuals selected according to different ages, gender and levels of education. The computational analysis of the fixation maps obtained from the gaze trajectories of the subjects for a given text reveals that the average “magnetization” of the fixation configurations correlates strongly with their complexity observed in the survey. Moreover, we perform a thermodynamic analysis using the Maximum-Entropy Model and find that coherent texts were closer to their corresponding “critical points” than non-coherent ones, as computed from the Pairwise Maximum-Entropy method, suggesting that different texts may induce distinct cohesive reading activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Débora Torres
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Wagner R. Sena
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Humberto A. Carmona
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - André A. Moreira
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
| | - Hernán A. Makse
- Levich Institute and Physics Department, The City College of New York, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - José S. Andrade
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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4
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Hermena EW, Bouamama S, Liversedge SP, Drieghe D. Does diacritics-based lexical disambiguation modulate word frequency, length, and predictability effects? An eye-movements investigation of processing Arabic diacritics. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259987. [PMID: 34780557 PMCID: PMC8592420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In Arabic, a predominantly consonantal script that features a high incidence of lexical ambiguity (heterophonic homographs), glyph-like marks called diacritics supply vowel information that clarifies how each consonant should be pronounced, and thereby disambiguate the pronunciation of consonantal strings. Diacritics are typically omitted from print except in situations where a particular homograph is not sufficiently disambiguated by the surrounding context. In three experiments we investigated whether the presence of disambiguating diacritics on target homographs modulates word frequency, length, and predictability effects during reading. In all experiments, the subordinate representation of the target homographs was instantiated by the diacritics (in the diacritized conditions), and by the context subsequent to the target homographs. The results replicated the effects of word frequency (Experiment 1), word length (Experiment 2), and predictability (Experiment 3). However, there was no evidence that diacritics-based disambiguation modulated these effects in the current study. Rather, diacritized targets in all experiments attracted longer first pass and later (go past and/or total fixation count) processing. These costs are suggested to be a manifestation of the subordinate bias effect. Furthermore, in all experiments, the diacritics-based disambiguation facilitated later sentence processing, relative to when the diacritics were absent. The reported findings expand existing knowledge about processing of diacritics, their contribution towards lexical ambiguity resolution, and sentence processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehab W. Hermena
- Cognition and Neuroscience Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- * E-mail:
| | - Sana Bouamama
- Centre for Perception and Cognition, Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Simon P. Liversedge
- Perception, Cognition, and Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom
| | - Denis Drieghe
- Centre for Perception and Cognition, Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
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5
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Hermena EW, Juma EJ, AlJassmi M. Parafoveal processing of orthographic, morphological, and semantic information during reading Arabic: A boundary paradigm investigation. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254745. [PMID: 34339439 PMCID: PMC8328344 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence shows that skilled readers extract information about upcoming words in the parafovea. Using the boundary paradigm, we investigated native Arabic readers' processing of orthographic, morphological, and semantic information available parafoveally. Target words were embedded in frame sentences, and prior to readers fixating them, one of the following previews were made available: (a) Identity preview; (b) Preview that shared the pattern morpheme with the target; (c) Preview that shared the root morpheme with the target; (d) Preview that was a synonym with the target word; (e) Preview with two of the root letters were transposed thus creating a new root, while preserving all letter identities of the target; (f) Preview with two of the root letters were transposed thus creating a pronounceable pseudo root, while also preserving all letter identities of the target; and (g) Previews that was unrelated to the target word and shared no information with it. The results showed that identity, root-preserving, and synonymous preview conditions yielded preview benefit. On the other hand, no benefit was obtained from the pattern-preserving previews, and significant disruption to processing was obtained from the previews that contained transposed root letters, particularly when this letter transposition created a new real root. The results thus reflect Arabic readers' dependance on morphological and semantic information, and suggest that these levels of representation are accessed as early as orthographic information. Implications for theory- and model-building, and the need to accommodate early morphological and semantic processing activities in more comprehensive models are further discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehab W. Hermena
- Department of Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience Research Laboratory, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE
- * E-mail:
| | - Eida J. Juma
- Department of Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience Research Laboratory, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE
| | - Maryam AlJassmi
- Department of Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience Research Laboratory, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE
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Abstract
Compounds are morphologically complex words made of different linguistic parts. They are very prevalent in a number of languages such as French. Different psycholinguistic characteristics of compounds have been used in certain studies to investigate the mechanisms involved in compound processing (see Table 7). We provide psycholinguistic norms for a set of 506 French compound words. The words were normed on seven characteristics: lexeme meaning dominance, semantic transparency, sensory experience, conceptual familiarity, imageability, age of acquisition (AoA) and subjective frequency. Reliability measures were computed for the collected norms. Descriptive statistical analyses, and correlational and multiple regression analyses were performed. We also report some comparisons made between our normative data and certain norms obtained in other similar studies. The entire set of norms, which will be very useful to researchers investigating the processing of compounds, is available as Supplemental Material.
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7
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Chang M, Zhang K, Hao L, Zhao S, McGowan VA, Warrington KL, Paterson KB, Wang J, Gunn SC. Word predictability depends on parafoveal preview validity in Chinese reading. VISUAL COGNITION 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2020.1714825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Min Chang
- Academy of Psychology and Behaviour, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Kuo Zhang
- Department of Social Psychology, Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lisha Hao
- Academy of Psychology and Behaviour, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Sainan Zhao
- Academy of Psychology and Behaviour, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Victoria A. McGowan
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Kayleigh L. Warrington
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Kevin B. Paterson
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Jingxin Wang
- Academy of Psychology and Behaviour, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
| | - Sarah C. Gunn
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
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8
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Zhang M, Liversedge SP, Bai X, Yan G, Zang C. The influence of foveal lexical processing load on parafoveal preview and saccadic targeting during Chinese reading. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2019; 45:812-825. [PMID: 31120302 PMCID: PMC6532562 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Whether increased foveal load causes a reduction of parafoveal processing remains equivocal. The present study examined foveal load effects on parafoveal processing in natural Chinese reading. Parafoveal preview of a single-character parafoveal target word was manipulated by using the boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975; pseudocharacter or identity previews) under high foveal load (low-frequency pretarget word) compared with low foveal load (high-frequency pretarget word) conditions. Despite an effective manipulation of foveal processing load, we obtained no evidence of any modulatory influence on parafoveal processing in first-pass reading times. However, our results clearly showed that saccadic targeting, in relation to forward saccade length from the pretarget word and in relation to target word skipping, was influenced by foveal load and this influence occurred independent of parafoveal preview. Given the optimal experimental conditions, these results provide very strong evidence that preview benefit is not modulated by foveal lexical load during Chinese reading. The findings of the present study show that foveal processing load, as manipulated through lexical frequency, has no modulatory influence on preview benefit for the subsequent word in a sentence during natural Chinese reading. Foveal processing difficulty does, however, influence saccades that determine where the eyes fixate next, and this influence occurs regardless of preview benefit for the following word. These results pertain directly to the Foveal Load Hypothesis that has received significant scrutiny in recent years. They also directly inform current understanding of the complexities of the relationship between the oculomotor control system that is responsible for positioning the point of fixation during reading and the complex cognitive processes that occur during written Chinese language comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manman Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University
| | | | - Xuejun Bai
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University
| | - Guoli Yan
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University
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9
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van Leendert A, Doorman M, Drijvers P, Pel J, van der Steen J. An Exploratory Study of Reading Mathematical Expressions by Braille Readers. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/0145482x18822024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Braille readers encounter difficulties when reading mathematical expressions. In this exploratory study, we created a setting to investigate these difficulties. Method: Using a motion-capturing system, we analyzed the tactile strategies of three braille readers while they read mathematical expressions. To compare tactile with visual reading strategies, we also analyzed the oculomotor performance in five print readers. Results: The analysis showed that the two experienced braille readers needed about 3.5 times as much time as print readers to read and solve four items involving mathematical expressions. The braille readers used personal reading strategies for all items with little use of the structure of the expression. In contrast, the reading strategies of print readers showed item-dependent and structure-related characteristics. Discussion: The braille readers had difficulties, within the constraints of tactile reading, to align their reading strategies with the solution procedures required by the mathematical structure of the items. Implications for practitioners: Teachers need to become aware of the kind of problems that braille readers confront when they try to comprehend and solve mathematical problems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michiel Doorman
- Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Paul Drijvers
- Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Johan Pel
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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10
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Traficante D, Marelli M, Luzzatti C. Effects of Reading Proficiency and of Base and Whole-Word Frequency on Reading Noun- and Verb-Derived Words: An Eye-Tracking Study in Italian Primary School Children. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2335. [PMID: 30546334 PMCID: PMC6279875 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess the role of readers' proficiency and of the base-word distributional properties on eye-movement behavior. Sixty-two typically developing children, attending 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, were asked to read derived words in a sentence context. Target words were nouns derived from noun bases (e.g., umorista, 'humorist'), which in Italian are shared by few derived words, and nouns derived from verb bases (e.g., punizione, 'punishment'), which are shared by about 50 different inflected forms and several derived words. Data shows that base and word frequency affected first-fixation duration for nouns derived from noun bases, but in an opposite way: base frequency had a facilitative effect on first fixation, whereas word frequency exerted an inhibitory effect. These results were interpreted as a competition between early accessed base words (e.g., camino, chimney) and target words (e.g., caminetto, fireplace). For nouns derived from verb bases, an inhibitory base frequency effect but no word frequency effect was observed. These results suggest that syntactic context, calling for a noun in the target position, lead to an inhibitory effect when a verb base was detected, and made it difficult for readers to access the corresponding base+suffix combination (whole word) in the very early processing phases. Gaze duration was mainly affected by word frequency and length: for nouns derived from noun bases, this interaction was modulated by proficiency, as length effect was stronger for less proficient readers, while they were processing low-frequency words. For nouns derived from verb bases, though, all children, irrespective of their reading ability, showed sensitivity to the interaction within frequency of base+suffix combination (word frequency) and target length. Results of this study are consistent with those of other Italian studies that contrasted noun and verb processing, and confirm that distributional properties of morphemic constituents have a significant impact on the strategies used for processing morphologically complex words.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Traficante
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- NeuroMI – Milan Centre for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Marelli
- NeuroMI – Milan Centre for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Claudio Luzzatti
- NeuroMI – Milan Centre for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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11
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Slattery TJ, Yates M. Word skipping: Effects of word length, predictability, spelling and reading skill. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2018; 71:250-259. [PMID: 28856970 PMCID: PMC6159777 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2017.1310264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Readers’ eyes often skip over words as they read. Skipping rates are largely
determined by word length; short words are skipped more than long words.
However, the predictability of a word in context also impacts skipping rates.
Rayner, Slattery, Drieghe and Liversedge reported an effect of predictability on
word skipping for even long words (10-13 characters) that extend beyond the word
identification span. Recent research suggests that better readers and spellers
have an enhanced perceptual span. We explored that whether reading and spelling
skill interact with word length and predictability to impact word skipping rates
in a large sample (N = 92) of average and poor adult readers.
Participants read the items from Rayner et al., while their eye movements were
recorded. Spelling skill (zSpell) was assessed using the dictation and
recognition tasks developed by Sally Andrews and colleagues. Reading skill
(zRead) was assessed from reading speed (words per minute) and comprehension
accuracy of three 120 word passages each with 10 comprehension questions. We fit
linear mixed models to the target gaze duration data and generalized linear
mixed models to the target word skipping data. Target word gaze durations were
significantly predicted by zRead, while the skipping likelihoods were
significantly predicted by zSpell. Additionally, for gaze durations, zRead
significantly interacted with word predictability as better readers relied less
on context to support word processing. These effects are discussed in relation
to the lexical quality hypothesis and eye movement models of reading.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark Yates
- Psychology Department, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA
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12
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Parker AJ, Kirkby JA, Slattery TJ. Predictability effects during reading in the absence of parafoveal preview. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2017.1340303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Parker
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK
| | - Julie A. Kirkby
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK
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13
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Abstract
Many studies in reading have shown the enhancing effect of context on the
processing of a word before it is directly fixated (parafoveal processing of
words). Here, we examined whether scene context influences the parafoveal
processing of objects and enhances the extraction of object information. Using a
modified boundary paradigm called the Dot-Boundary paradigm, participants
fixated on a suddenly onsetting cue before the preview object would onset 4°
away. The preview object could be identical to the target, visually similar,
visually dissimilar or a control (black rectangle). The preview changed to the
target object once a saccade toward the object was made. Critically, the objects
were presented on either a consistent or an inconsistent scene background.
Results revealed that there was a greater processing benefit for consistent than
inconsistent scene backgrounds and that identical and visually similar previews
produced greater processing benefits than other previews. In the second
experiment, we added an additional context condition in which the target
location was inconsistent, but the scene semantics remained consistent. We found
that changing the location of the target object disrupted the processing benefit
derived from the consistent context. Most importantly, across both experiments,
the effect of preview was not enhanced by scene context. Thus, preview
information and scene context appear to independently boost the parafoveal
processing of objects without any interaction from object–scene congruency.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Effie J Pereira
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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14
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Li N, Wang S, Mo L, Kliegl R. Contextual Constraint and Preview Time Modulate the Semantic Preview Effect: Evidence from Chinese Sentence Reading. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2017; 71:1-32. [PMID: 28332924 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2017.1310914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Word recognition in sentence reading is influenced by information from both preview and context. Recently, semantic preview effect (SPE) was observed being modulated by the constraint of context, indicating that context might accelerate the processing of semantically related preview words. Besides, SPE was found to depend on preview time, which suggests SPE may change with different processing stages of preview words. Therefore it raises the question of whether preview-time-dependent SPE would be modulated by contextual constraint. In the current study, we investigated the impact of contextual constraint on SPE in Chinese reading, but also examined its dependency on preview time. The preview word and the target word were identical, semantically related, or unrelated to the target word. The results showed a significant three-way interaction: The SPE depended on contextual constraint and preview time. In separate analyses for low and high contextual constraint of target words, the SPE significantly decreased with an increase in preview duration when the target word was of low constraint in the sentence. The effect was numerically in the same direction, but weaker and statistically non-significant when the target word was highly constrained in the sentence. The results indicate that word processing in sentences is a dynamic process of integrating information from both preview (bottom up) and context (top down).
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Li
- a Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science , South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631 , P. R. China
- b Center for Studies of Psychological Application , South China Normal University
- c School of Psychology , South China Normal University
| | - Suiping Wang
- a Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science , South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631 , P. R. China
- b Center for Studies of Psychological Application , South China Normal University
- c School of Psychology , South China Normal University
| | - Luxi Mo
- a Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science , South China Normal University , Guangzhou 510631 , P. R. China
- b Center for Studies of Psychological Application , South China Normal University
- c School of Psychology , South China Normal University
| | - Reinhold Kliegl
- d Department of Psychology , University of Potsdam , Germany
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15
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Hyönä J, Yan M, Vainio S. Morphological structure influences the initial landing position in words during reading Finnish. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2017; 71:1-10. [PMID: 27905866 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2016.1267233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The preferred viewing location in words [Rayner, K. (1979). Eye guidance in reading: Fixation locations within words. Perception, 8, 21-30] during reading is near the word centre. Parafoveal word length information is utilized to guide the eyes toward it. A recent study by Yan and colleagues [Yan, M., Zhou, W., Shu, H., Yusupu, R., Miao, D., Krügel, A., & Kliegl, R. (2014). Eye movements guided by morphological structure: Evidence from the Uighur language. Cognition, 132, 181-215] demonstrated that the word's morphological structure may also be used in saccadic targeting. The study was conducted in a morphologically rich language, Uighur. The present study aimed at replicating their main findings in another morphologically rich language, Finnish. Similarly to Yan et al., it was found that the initial fixation landed closer to the word beginning for morphologically complex than for monomorphemic words. Word frequency, saccade launch site, and word length were also found to influence the initial landing position. It is concluded that in addition to low-level factors (word length and saccade launch site), also higher level factors related to the word's morphological structure and frequency may be utilized in saccade programming during reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jukka Hyönä
- a Department of Psychology , University of Turku , Turku , Finland
| | - Ming Yan
- b Department of Psychology , University of Potsdam , Potsdam , Germany
| | - Seppo Vainio
- a Department of Psychology , University of Turku , Turku , Finland
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Veldre A, Andrews S. Parafoveal preview effects depend on both preview plausibility and target predictability. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2016; 71:1-12. [PMID: 27734767 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2016.1247894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies using the boundary paradigm have shown that readers benefit from a parafoveal preview of a plausible continuation of the sentence. This plausibility preview effect occurs irrespective of the semantic or orthographic relatedness of the preview and target word, suggesting that it depends on the degree to which a preview word fits the preceding context. The present study tested this hypothesis by examining the impact of contextual constraint on processing a plausible word in the parafovea. Participants' eye movements were recorded as they read sentences in which a target word was either highly predictable or unpredictable. The boundary paradigm was used to compare predictable, unpredictable, and implausible previews. The results showed that target predictability significantly modulated the effects of identical and plausible previews. Identical previews yielded significantly more benefit than plausible previews for highly predictable targets, but for unpredictable targets a plausible preview was as beneficial as an identical preview. The results shed light on the role of contextual predictability in early lexical processing. Furthermore, these data support the view that readers activate a set of appropriate words from the preceding sentence context, prior to the presentation of the target word.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Veldre
- a School of Psychology , University of Sydney , Sydney , NSW , Australia
| | - Sally Andrews
- a School of Psychology , University of Sydney , Sydney , NSW , Australia
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Zhang W, Li N, Wang X, Wang S. Integration of Sentence-Level Semantic Information in Parafovea: Evidence from the RSVP-Flanker Paradigm. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0139016. [PMID: 26418230 PMCID: PMC4587981 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Accepted: 09/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
During text reading, the parafoveal word was usually presented between 2° and 5° from the point of fixation. Whether semantic information of parafoveal words can be processed during sentence reading is a critical and long-standing issue. Recently, studies using the RSVP-flanker paradigm have shown that the incongruent parafoveal word, presented as right flanker, elicited a more negative N400 compared with the congruent parafoveal word. This suggests that the semantic information of parafoveal words can be extracted and integrated during sentence reading, because the N400 effect is a classical index of semantic integration. However, as most previous studies did not control the word-pair congruency of the parafoveal and the foveal words that were presented in the critical triad, it is still unclear whether such integration happened at the sentence level or just at the word-pair level. The present study addressed this question by manipulating verbs in Chinese sentences to yield either a semantically congruent or semantically incongruent context for the critical noun. In particular, the interval between the critical nouns and verbs was controlled to be 4 or 5 characters. Thus, to detect the incongruence of the parafoveal noun, participants had to integrate it with the global sentential context. The results revealed that the N400 time-locked to the critical triads was more negative in incongruent than in congruent sentences, suggesting that parafoveal semantic information can be integrated at the sentence level during Chinese reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjia Zhang
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province,South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nan Li
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province,South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoyue Wang
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province,South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application and School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province,South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail:
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Farmer TA, Yan S, Bicknell K, Tanenhaus MK. Form-to-expectation matching effects on first-pass eye movement measures during reading. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2015; 41:958-76. [PMID: 25915072 PMCID: PMC4516711 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0000054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent Electroencephalography/Magnetoencephalography (EEG/MEG) studies suggest that when contextual information is highly predictive of some property of a linguistic signal, expectations generated from context can be translated into surprisingly low-level estimates of the physical form-based properties likely to occur in subsequent portions of the unfolding signal. Whether form-based expectations are generated and assessed during natural reading, however, remains unclear. We monitored eye movements while participants read phonologically typical and atypical nouns in noun-predictive contexts (Experiment 1), demonstrating that when a noun is strongly expected, fixation durations on first-pass eye movement measures, including first fixation duration, gaze duration, and go-past times, are shorter for nouns with category typical form-based features. In Experiments 2 and 3, typical and atypical nouns were placed in sentential contexts normed to create expectations of variable strength for a noun. Context and typicality interacted significantly at gaze duration. These results suggest that during reading, form-based expectations that are translated from higher-level category-based expectancies can facilitate the processing of a word in context, and that their effect on lexical processing is graded based on the strength of category expectancy.
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Liversedge SP, Zang C, Zhang M, Bai X, Yan G, Drieghe D. The effect of visual complexity and word frequency on eye movements during Chinese reading. VISUAL COGNITION 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2014.889260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Winskel H, Perea M. Consonant/vowel asymmetries in letter position coding during normal reading: Evidence from parafoveal previews in Thai. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2012.753077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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21
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Juhasz BJ. Sentence context modifies compound word recognition: Evidence from eye movements. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2012.706602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Eye movements reveal effects of visual content on eye guidance and lexical access during reading. PLoS One 2012; 7:e41766. [PMID: 22905106 PMCID: PMC3414467 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2012] [Accepted: 06/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Normal reading requires eye guidance and activation of lexical representations so that words in text can be identified accurately. However, little is known about how the visual content of text supports eye guidance and lexical activation, and thereby enables normal reading to take place. Methods and Findings To investigate this issue, we investigated eye movement performance when reading sentences displayed as normal and when the spatial frequency content of text was filtered to contain just one of 5 types of visual content: very coarse, coarse, medium, fine, and very fine. The effect of each type of visual content specifically on lexical activation was assessed using a target word of either high or low lexical frequency embedded in each sentence Results No type of visual content produced normal eye movement performance but eye movement performance was closest to normal for medium and fine visual content. However, effects of lexical frequency emerged early in the eye movement record for coarse, medium, fine, and very fine visual content, and were observed in total reading times for target words for all types of visual content. Conclusion These findings suggest that while the orchestration of multiple scales of visual content is required for normal eye-guidance during reading, a broad range of visual content can activate processes of word identification independently. Implications for understanding the role of visual content in reading are discussed.
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Hyönä J. The role of visual acuity and segmentation cues in compound word identification. Front Psychol 2012; 3:188. [PMID: 22701444 PMCID: PMC3371694 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2012] [Accepted: 05/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies are reviewed that demonstrate how the identification of compound words during reading is constrained by the foveal area of the eye. When compound words are short, their letters can be identified during a single fixation, leading to the whole-word route dominating word recognition from early on. Hence, marking morpheme boundaries visually by means of hyphens slows down the processing of short words by encouraging morphological decomposition when holistic processing is a feasible option. In contrast, the decomposition route dominates the early stages of identifying long compound words. Thus, visual marking of morpheme boundaries facilitates processing of long compound words, unless the initial fixation made on the word lands very close to the morpheme boundary. The reviewed pattern of results is explained by the visual acuity principle (Bertram and Hyönä, 2003) and the dual-route framework of morphological processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jukka Hyönä
- Department of Psychology, University of Turku Turku, Finland
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Yang J, Wang S, Tong X, Rayner K. Semantic and plausibility effects on preview benefit during eye fixations in Chinese reading. READING AND WRITING 2012; 25:1031-1052. [PMID: 22593624 PMCID: PMC3337412 DOI: 10.1007/s11145-010-9281-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975) was used to examine whether high level information affects preview benefit during Chinese reading. In two experiments, readers read sentences with a 1-character target word while their eye movements were monitored. In Experiment 1, the semantic relatedness between the target word and the preview word was manipulated so that there were semantically related and unrelated preview words, both of which were not plausible in the sentence context. No significant differences between these two preview conditions were found, indicating no effect of semantic preview. In Experiment 2, we further examined semantic preview effects with plausible preview words. There were four types of previews: identical, related & plausible, unrelated & plausible, and unrelated & implausible. The results revealed a significant effect of plausibility as single fixation and gaze duration on the target region were shorter in the two plausible conditions than in the implausible condition. Moreover, there was some evidence for a semantic preview benefit as single fixation duration on the target region was shorter in the related & plausible condition than the unrelated & plausible condition. Implications of these results for processing of high level information during Chinese reading are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinmian Yang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92092 USA
| | - Suiping Wang
- Department of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiuhong Tong
- Department of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Keith Rayner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92092 USA
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Rayner K, Slattery TJ, Drieghe D, Liversedge SP. Eye movements and word skipping during reading: effects of word length and predictability. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2011; 37:514-28. [PMID: 21463086 DOI: 10.1037/a0020990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Eye movements were monitored as subjects read sentences containing high- or low-predictable target words. The extent to which target words were predictable from prior context was varied: Half of the target words were predictable, and the other half were unpredictable. In addition, the length of the target word varied: The target words were short (4-6 letters), medium (7-9 letters), or long (10-12 letters). Length and predictability both yielded strong effects on the probability of skipping the target words and on the amount of time readers fixated the target words (when they were not skipped). However, there was no interaction in any of the measures examined for either skipping or fixation time. The results demonstrate that word predictability (due to contextual constraint) and word length have strong and independent influences on word skipping and fixation durations. Furthermore, because the long words extended beyond the word identification span, the data indicate that skipping can occur on the basis of partial information in relation to word identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith Rayner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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Juhasz BJ, Berkowitz RN. Effects of morphological families on English compound word recognition: A multitask investigation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/01690965.2010.498668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Yan M, Kliegl R, Richter EM, Nuthmann A, Shu H. Flexible saccade-target selection in Chinese reading. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2010; 63:705-25. [DOI: 10.1080/17470210903114858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
As Chinese is written without orthographical word boundaries (i.e., spaces), it is unclear whether saccade targets are selected on the basis of characters or words and whether saccades are aimed at the beginning or the centre of words. Here, we report an experiment where 30 Chinese readers read 150 sentences while their eye movements were monitored. They exhibited a strong tendency to fixate at the word centre in single-fixation cases and at the word beginning in multiple-fixation cases. Different from spaced alphabetic script, initial fixations falling at the end of words were no more likely to be followed by a refixation than initial fixations at word centre. Further, single fixations were shorter than first fixations in two-fixation cases, which is opposite to what is found in Roman script. We propose that Chinese readers dynamically select the beginning or centre of words as saccade targets depending on failure or success with segmentation of parafoveal word boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Yan
- Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Peking University, Peking, China
| | | | | | | | - Hua Shu
- Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Rayner K. The 35th Sir Frederick Bartlett Lecture: Eye movements and attention in reading, scene perception, and visual search. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2009; 62:1457-506. [PMID: 19449261 DOI: 10.1080/17470210902816461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 977] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Eye movements are now widely used to investigate cognitive processes during reading, scene perception, and visual search. In this article, research on the following topics is reviewed with respect to reading: (a) the perceptual span (or span of effective vision), (b) preview benefit, (c) eye movement control, and (d) models of eye movements. Related issues with respect to eye movements during scene perception and visual search are also reviewed. It is argued that research on eye movements during reading has been somewhat advanced over research on eye movements in scene perception and visual search and that some of the paradigms developed to study reading should be more widely adopted in the study of scene perception and visual search. Research dealing with “real-world” tasks and research utilizing the visual-world paradigm are also briefly discussed.
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Perea M, Pérez E. Beyond alphabetic orthographies: The role of form and phonology in transposition effects in Katakana. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/01690960802053924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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