EVENT-RELATED BRAIN POTENTIALS, EYE MOVEMENTS, AND READING

Abstract— This article compares studies that use event-related brain potential (ERP) and eye movement data to examine changes in reading behavior when a text is read twice. Although the types of information provided by these methodologies are different, both indicate that rereading a text facilitates many aspects of processing. ERPs provide a method for measuring comprehension and memory processes separately, while eye movements provide a continuous record of performance and allow changes in reading behavior to be localized to specific words. The results from these studies are compatible. However, converging evidence is not always found when different paradigms are contrasted, and diverging results can provide important information. To facilitate comparison across experiments, we suggest using a common set of materials for both paradigms. We conclude that comparing the results of research based on more than one paradigm provides a more complete understanding of the processes involved in reading.     

Eye movement control in reading and visual search: Effects of word frequency

Eye movements were recorded as subjects either read text or searched through texts for a target word. In the reading task, there was a robust word frequency effect wherein readers looked longer at low-frequency words than at high-frequency words. However, there was no frequency effect in the search task. The results suggest that decisions to move the eyes during reading are made on a different basis than they are during visual search. Implications for current models of eye movement control in reading are discussed.     

Morally Judging Entertainment: A Case Study of Live Tweeting During Downton Abbey

In this study, we propose that the massive, unsolicited, real-time data generated by social media might provide media psychologists with new paths for examining the role that morality and moral thinking play during the consumption of entertainment. Our broad goal was to explore a potentially new methodological approach to the study of morality and media and to offer an initial case study in applying that approach. The case study examined if, and if so how, viewers used Twitter to express their moral thoughts during the Season 3 finale of Downton Abbey. Based on moral foundation theory and affective disposition theory, we derived and examined a set of propositions. Specifically, we observed and discussed the importance of tweets (a) reflecting language from five moral domains, (b) for a beloved character who suffers pain and loss, and (c) about a character who regularly violates moral norms. We conclude that social TV analysis offers a promising new way for researchers to explore issues of morality and media reception.     

Capturing the effect of a title on multiple levels of comprehension

Researchers have manipulated text comprehension by creating texts that require a title to be understood, butthe source of the comprehension deficit has not been fully examined. We created comprehension quizzes for these texts that measure the surface form, textbase, and situation model. In three experiments, participants read passages with or without a title and then answered quiz questions. Results showed that the absence of a title influenced theaccuracy rate of answering situation model questions more than answering surface form or textbase questions. This suggests that the situation model is the primary source o f difficulty for these texts. These passages and quizzes can beused in future research that requires controlled manipulation and measurement of situation level comprehension.     

Complex Reaction Time and General Intelligence: A Refinement

College students (N = 28) completed a reaction-time task that yielded decision times for simple and complex conditions. Each student was also administered the revised edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-R). Decision-time parameters generally correlated negatively with WAIS subscales. These correlations reached significance, however, mainly with timed performance subscales. The results were consistent with Vernon's (1983) results.     

An eye movement study of insight problem solving

The representational change theory of insight claims that insight problems cause impasses because they mislead problem solvers into constructing inappropriate initial representations. Insight is attained when the initial representation is changed. In the present study (N = 24), we tested three specific implications of these hypotheses against eye movements recorded while participants solved matchstick arithmetic problems. The results were consistent with the predictions, providing converging evidence with prior findings using solution rates and solution times. Alternative theories of insight can explain individual findings, but only the representational change theory accounts for both the performance data and the eye movement data. The present study also suggests that eye movement recordings provide an important new window into processes of insight problem solving.     

Entertaining Each Other?

Television (TV) is reemerging as a focal point for common experiences and community formation through the use of various digital technologies while viewing. A prominent example of this is second screening, or the use of various technologies to share reactions to and attitudes and opinions about what we see and hear while watching TV with other (virtual) viewers. We contend that second screening requires communication scholars to rethink the nature of the TV entertainment experience, as the practice increasingly blurs lines between interpersonal and mass communication processes. In this article, we introduce a conceptual model designed to identify key issues to be considered and addressed by those seeking to better understand entertainment experiences during socially shared TV viewing.