不同掩蔽材料对阅读知觉广度的影响

采用移动窗口技术,探讨了不同掩蔽材料对中文阅读知觉广度的影响,结果表明：（1）相对于“※”掩蔽,文字掩蔽条件下的阅读效率更低、平均注视时间更长、眼跳幅度更小。（2）“※”掩蔽下被试的知觉广度为注视字左侧1个字,右侧2－3个字;文字掩蔽下被试的知觉广度为注视字左侧1个字,右侧3－4个字。综合上述结果,文字掩蔽材料可以比“※”掩蔽材料获得更大的知觉广度,但阅读效率更低。在中文阅读中,文字掩蔽材料更适合探讨阅读知觉广度     

Reading spaced and unspaced Chinese text: evidence from eye movements

Native Chinese readers' eye movements were monitored as they read text that did or did not demark word boundary information. In Experiment 1, sentences had 4 types of spacing: normal unspaced text, text with spaces between words, text with spaces between characters that yielded nonwords, and finally text with spaces between every character. The authors investigated whether the introduction of spaces into unspaced Chinese text facilitates reading and whether the word or, alternatively, the character is a unit of information that is of primary importance in Chinese reading. Global and local measures indicated that sentences with unfamiliar word spaced format were as easy to read as visually familiar unspaced text. Nonword spacing and a space between every character produced longer reading times. In Experiment 2, highlighting was used to create analogous conditions: normal Chinese text, highlighting that marked words, highlighting that yielded nonwords, and highlighting that marked each character. The data from both experiments clearly indicated that words, and not individual characters, are the unit of primary importance in Chinese reading.     

中文阅读知觉广度的影响因素研究

研究以Eyelink2000车载眼动仪为工具,采用6×3×2×2的四因素混合设计,借助经典的移动窗口技术,探讨了72名被试阅读知觉广度的发展情况,以及材料难度和阅读能力对知觉广度的影响。结果表明:(1)年级、材料难度、阅读能力均各自独立地影响知觉广度。(2)小学三年级被试知觉广度的右侧范围为1~2个字,小学五年级被试接近成人大学生的知觉广度,右侧范围均为2~3个汉字。(3)难度对知觉广度有影响,被试阅读难材料的知觉广度为2~3个汉字,易材料为2~4个汉字。(4)高阅读能力被试的知觉广度大于低阅读能力被试,阅读容易材料时比低阅读能力被试有更大的向右眼跳幅度。     

Eye-hand span and coding of text during copytyping.

Concurrent oculomotor and manual activities during copytyping were examined to determine whether (a) typists keep the eyes 1-s ahead of the executed keypress, (b) control of eye-hand (E-H) coordination follows the lexical representation of to-be-typed text, and (c) typists seek visual information beyond the boundaries of the fixated word. To-be-typed text contained high- and low-frequency target words that were either short or long. Two viewing conditions were used revealing either the directly fixated word only or the fixated word plus the next word in the text. The results showed no support for the 1-s E-H lag hypothesis. The E-H span was also not affected by the visibility of text but was a function of word frequency, suggesting that E-H coordination follows the lexical representation of text. Effects of window size indicated that typists seek visual information beyond the boundaries of the fixated word.     

Parafoveal preview benefits during silent and oral reading: Testing the parafoveal information extraction hypothesis

The preview of a parafoveally visible word conveys benefits when it is subsequently fixated. The current study examined whether these benefits are determined by the effectiveness of parafoveal information extraction, as implied by current models of eye movement control during reading, or by the effectiveness with which extracted information is integrated when a previewed word is fixated. For this, the boundary technique was used to manipulate the extent to which parafoveal information could be extracted, and text was read silently or orally. Consistent with prior work, a parafoveal target word preview conveyed fewer benefits when less parafoveal information could be extracted, target viewing durations were longer during oral than during silent reading, and the two factors interacted in the target fixation data, with smaller preview benefits during oral than during silent reading. Survival analyses indicated that this occurred because parafoveal information use occurred at later point in time during oral reading. Diminished opportunity for parafoveal information extraction also diminished target skipping rate, and it resulted in smaller saccades to target words, but these effects were not influenced by reading mode. Parafoveally extracted information was thus used less effectively during oral reading only when it involved the integration of parafoveally extracted information during subsequent target viewing. The dissociation of extraction from integration challenges current models of eye movement control.     

Word frequency during copytyping.

Two experiments examined effects of visual encoding and of manual motor programming during copytyping. In Experiment 1, expert typists copied sentences containing high- or low-frequency target words; instructions emphasized either the speed of typing or text comprehension. The results showed increased typing times for words preceding low frequency targets in the comprehension condition. However, pretarget typing was not affected by target frequency when speed of typing was emphasized, indicating that the visual encoding of text does not affect concurrent keypresses. Low-frequency words themselves were typed slower than high-frequency words. Supplementary analyses indicated that word frequency may affect the programming of a sequence of keystrokes forming a word. Consistent with this assessment, Experiment 2 showed that effects of word frequency cannot be reduced to movement practice.     

Parafoveal Magnification: Visual Acuity Does Not Modulate the Perceptual Span in Reading

ABSTRACT— Models of eye guidance in reading rely on the concept of the perceptual span—the amount of information perceived during a single eye fixation, which is considered to be a consequence of visual and attentional constraints. To directly investigate attentional mechanisms underlying the perceptual span, we implemented a new reading paradigm—parafoveal magnification (PM)—that compensates for how visual acuity drops off as a function of retinal eccentricity. On each fixation and in real time, parafoveal text is magnified to equalize its perceptual impact with that of concurrent foveal text. Experiment 1 demonstrated that PM does not increase the amount of text that is processed, supporting an attentional-based account of eye movements in reading. Experiment 2 explored a contentious issue that differentiates competing models of eye movement control and showed that, even when parafoveal information is enlarged, visual attention in reading is allocated in a serial fashion from word to word.     

词边界信息对读者阅读歧义短语时眼跳策略的影响

采用Eye Link 2000眼动仪,选取60个歧义短语,要求大学生被试阅读包含有歧义短语的句子。句子的呈现设置了四种条件:正常无阴影、词间阴影、歧义阴影和字间阴影,以探讨词边界信息是否影响读者阅读歧义短语时的注视位置效应。结果发现:读者对歧义短语的首次注视位置在四种条件下基本一致;词边界信息影响读者对歧义短语的再注视概率。结果表明,词边界信息对歧义短语的影响主要体现在眼跳行动(即"where")的晚期阶段。     

Syllabic tone articulation influences the identification and use of words during Chinese sentence reading: Evidence from ERP and eye movement recordings

In two experiments, we examined the contribution of articulation-specific features to visual word recognition during the reading of Chinese. In spoken Standard Chinese, a syllable with a full tone can be tone-neutralized through sound weakening and pitch contour change, and there are two types of two-character compound words with respect to their articulation variation. One type requires articulation of a full tone for each constituent character, and the other requires a full- and a neutral-tone articulation for the first and second characters, respectively. Words of these two types with identical first characters were selected and embedded in sentences. Native speakers of Standard Chinese were recruited to read the sentences. In Experiment 1, the individual words of a sentence were presented serially at a fixed pace while event-related potentials were recorded. This resulted in less-negative N100 and anterior N250 amplitudes and in more-negative N400 amplitudes when targets contained a neutral tone. Complete sentences were visible in Experiment 2, and eye movements were recorded while participants read. Analyses of oculomotor activity revealed shorter viewing durations and fewer refixations on—and fewer regressive saccades to—target words when their second syllable was articulated with a neutral rather than a full tone. Together, the results indicate that readers represent articulation-specific word properties, that these representations are routinely activated early during the silent reading of Chinese sentences, and that the representations are also used during later stages of word processing.     

Temporal dynamics of the eye–voice span and eye movement control during oral reading

The distance between eye movements and articulation during oral reading, commonly referred to as the eye–voice span, has been a classic issue of experimental reading research since Buswell (1921). To examine the influence of the span on eye movement control, synchronised recordings of eye position and speech production were obtained during fluent oral reading. The viewing of a word almost always preceded its articulation, and the interval between the onset of a word's fixation and the onset of its articulation was approximately 500 ms. The identification and articulation of a word were closely coupled, and the fixation–speech interval was regulated through immediate adjustments of word viewing duration, unless the interval was relatively long. In this case, the lag between identification and articulation was often reduced through a regression that moved the eyes back in the text. These results indicate that models of eye movement control during oral reading need to include a mechanism that maintains a close linkage between the identification and articulation of words through continuous oculomotor adjustments.     

Eye Movements, Cognitive Processes, and Reading

Itisveryclearthateyemovementdatahavebeenextremelyinfluentialinshapingwhatamodelofskilledreadingshouldbelike[1,2].Eyemovementdatahavealsoyieldedvaluableinsightsconcerningthemostappropriatewaystoteachreading[3,4].Giv鄄enthatmyownresearchhasinvolvedtheuseofeyemovementdataformanyyears,Iamoftenaskedwhatthemostsignificantfindingsthathaveemergedfromourlab.Inthisarticle,IwillfocusonwhatIviewtobethemostimportantfindingsanddevelopmentsfromtheresearchthatwehavedoneoverthisextended30yearperiod.Becauseou…     

Direct control of fixation times in scene viewing: Evidence from analysis of the distribution of first fixation duration

Participants' eye movements were monitored in two scene viewing experiments that manipulated the task-relevance of scene stimuli and their availability for extrafoveal processing. In both experiments, participants viewed arrays containing eight scenes drawn from two categories. The arrays of scenes were either viewed freely (Free Viewing) or in a gaze-contingent viewing mode where extrafoveal preview of the scenes was restricted (No Preview). In Experiment 1a, participants memorized the scenes from one category that was designated as relevant, and in Experiment 1b, participants chose their preferred scene from within the relevant category. We examined first fixations on scenes from the relevant category compared to the irrelevant category (Experiments 1a and 1b), and those on the chosen scene compared to other scenes not chosen within the relevant category (Experiment 1b). A survival analysis was used to estimate the first discernible influence of the task-relevance on the distribution of first-fixation durations. In the free viewing condition in Experiment 1a, the influence of task relevance occurred as early as 81 ms from the start of fixation. In contrast, the corresponding value in the no preview condition was 254 ms, demonstrating the crucial role of extrafoveal processing in enabling direct control of fixation durations in scene viewing. First fixation durations were also influenced by whether or not the scene was eventually chosen (Experiment 1b), but this effect occurred later and affected fewer fixations than the effect of scene category, indicating that the time course of scene processing is an important variable mediating direct control of fixation durations.     

Not fixating at the line of text comes at a cost

Previous research on eye guidance in reading has investigated systematic tendencies with respect to horizontal fixation locations on letters within words and the relationship between fixation location in a word and the duration of the fixation. The present study investigates where readers place their eyes vertically on the line of text and how vertical fixation location is related to fixation duration. Analyses were based on a large corpus of eye movement recordings from single-sentence reading. The vertical preferred viewing location was found to be within the vertical extent of the font, but fixations beyond the vertical boundaries of the text also frequently occurred. Analyzing fixation duration as a function of vertical fixation location revealed a vertical optimal viewing position (vOVP) effect: Fixations were shortest when placed optimally on the line of text, and fixation duration gradually increased for fixations that fell above or below the line of text. The vOVP effect can be explained by the limits of visual resolution along the vertical meridian. It is concluded that vertical and horizontal landing positions in single-sentence reading are associated with differences in fixation durations in opposite ways.     

Effects of titles on the processing of text and lexically ambiguous words: Evidence from eye movements

Providing titles for passages improves the comprehension and memorability of text. Titles have generally been thought to facilitate comprehension at later stages of processing. Consistent with prior research, we found that passages presented with titles were better recalled than those without titles. Furthermore, in Experiment 1, the presence of titles led to fewer regressive eye movements, shorter end-of-sentence reading times, and shorter fixation times on target nouns. Experiments 2 and 3, using ambiguous target words, indicated that except when a very infrequent sense of a word is required, titles provide a strong enough context to allow for ambiguous words to be processed as quickly as control words. The results of the three experiments suggest that titles affect processing at both integrative and lexical stages of reading.     

Saccade generation during reading: Are words necessary?

Most current theories of eye movement control during reading are word based in multiple ways: They assume that saccade onset times result from word‐based processes, and that words are involved in selecting a saccade target. In the current study the role of words was examined by occasionally replacing the text with one of five alternate stimulus patterns for a single fixation during reading, and observing the effects on the time, direction, and length of the saccade that ends that fixation. The onset times of many saccades are unaffected by replacing spaces with random letters, thus removing visible word‐units; also, the effects of this removal on saccade length is not different than that of having space‐delimited nonwords. It does not appear that words play a critical role in generating saccades. The results are compatible with the Competition/Interaction theory of eye movement control during reading (Yang & McConkie, 2001).     

What’s left? An eye movement study of the influence of interword spaces to the left of fixation during reading

In English and other alphabetic systems read from left to right, the useful information acquired during each fixational pause is generally reported to extend 14–15 character spaces to the right of each fixation, but only 3–4 character spaces to the left, and certainly no farther than the beginning of the fixated word. However, this leftward extent is remarkably small and seems inconsistent with the general bilateral symmetry of vision. Accordingly, in the present study we investigated the influence of a fundamental component of text to the left of fixation—interword spaces—using a well-established eyetracking paradigm in which invisible boundaries were set up along individual sentence displays that were then read. Each boundary corresponded to the leftmost edge of a word in a sentence, so that as the eyes crossed a boundary, interword spaces in the text to the left of that word were obscured (by inserting a letter x). The proximity of the obscured text during each fixational pause was maintained at one, two, three, or four interword spaces from the left boundary of each fixated word. Normal fixations, regressions, and progressive saccades were disrupted when the obscured text was up to three interword spaces (an average of over 12 character spaces) away from the fixated word, while four interword spaces away produced no disruption. These findings suggest that influential information from text is acquired during each fixational pause from much farther leftward than is generally realized and that this information contributes to normal reading performance. Implications of these findings for reading are discussed.     

Effects of foveal processing difficulty on the perceptual span in reading: implications for attention and eye movement control

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of foveal processing difficulty on the perceptual span in reading. Subjects read sentences while their eye movements were recorded. By changing the text contingent on the reader's current point of fixation, foveal processing difficulty and the availability of parafoveal word information were independently manipulated. In Experiment 1, foveal processing difficulty was manipulated by lexical frequency, and in Experiment 2 foveal difficulty was manipulated by syntactic complexity. In both experiments, less parafoveal information was acquired when processing in the fovea was difficult. We conclude that the perceptual span is variable and attentionally constrained. We also discuss the implications of the results for current models of the relation between covert visual-spatial attention and eye movement control in reading.     

Eye movements reveal solution knowledge prior to insight

In two experiments, participants solved anagram problems while their eye movements were monitored. Each problem consisted of a circular array of five letters: a scrambled four-letter solution word containing three consonants and one vowel, and an additional randomly-placed distractor consonant. Viewing times on the distractor consonant compared to the solution consonants provided an online measure of knowledge of the solution. Viewing times on the distractor consonant and the solution consonants were indistinguishable early in the trial. In contrast, several seconds prior to the response, viewing times on the distractor consonant decreased in a gradual manner compared to viewing times on the solution consonants. Importantly, this pattern was obtained across both trials in which participants reported the subjective experience of insight and trials in which they did not. These findings are consistent with the availability of partial knowledge of the solution prior to such information being accessible to subjective phenomenal awareness.     

Distinct subsystems for the parafoveal processing of spatial and linguistic information during eye fixations in reading

Two experiments examined readers' use of parafoveally obtained word length information for word recognition. Both experiments manipulated the length (number of constituent characters) of a parafoveally previewed target word so that it was either accurately or inaccurately specified. In Experiment 1, previews also either revealed or denied useful orthographic information. In Experiment 2, parafoveal targets were either high- or low-frequency words. Eye movement contingent display changes were used to show the intact target upon its fixation. Examination of target viewing duration showed completely additive effects of word length previews and of ortho-graphic previews in Experiment 1, viewing duration being shorter in the accurate-length and the orthographic preview conditions. Experiment 2 showed completely additive effects of word length and word frequency, target viewing being shorter in the accurate-length and the high-frequency conditions. Together these results indicate that functionally distinct subsystems control the use of parafoveally visible spatial and linguistic information in reading. Parafoveally visible spatial information appears to be used for two distinct extralinguistic computations: visual object selection and saccade specification.     

字、词的识别加工在中文阅读眼动控制中的作用:来自消失文本方面的证据*

实验采用消失文本范式,操纵注视点上字、词消失单元和呈现时间,探讨字词视觉呈现、字词识别加工对中文阅读眼动过程的影响。结果发现:(1)0 ms延迟时间的消失文本均严重影响总阅读时间,其中单字消失、单词消失与双字消失对阅读效率的影响没有差别;各消失条件都导致较多回视次数;相对于其他消失条件,单字消失和双字消失导致较多的再注视词数。(2)120 ms延迟时间的消失文本均不影响总阅读时间,但会通过取消部分眼跳的方式导致注视持续时间的增加,字消失单元(单字消失和双字消失)迫使读者取消部分词内再注视眼跳。综合两种延迟时间下各消失文本的数据可见,字识别和词汇识别相互影响,词在中文阅读的词内再注视眼跳选择目标环节起到重要作用。