Gary E. Raney

Eye movement control in reading: A comparison of two types of models

: Two classes of models have been proposed to account for eye movement control during reading. Proponents of the 1st class of model claim that the decision of when to move the eyes (reflected in fixation duration) is primarily influenced by the status of on-line language processing such as lexical access. Supporters of the 2nd class of model, however, maintain that (a) lower level oculomotor factors such as fixation location govern the decision of when to move the eyes and (b) lexical variables exert only a weak influence. In this study, fixation duration on low-and high-frequency target words was examined as a function of fixation location and the number of fixations on a target word. The data are inconsistent with an oculomotor model.

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.

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.

Word frequency effects and eye movements during two readings of a text.

The present study examined the influence of word frequency on rereading performance. Subjects read short passages, each twice in succession, while their eye movements were monitored. During first presentations, each passage contained a target word of low or high frequency; during second presentations, the targets were either repeated or replaced by synonyms. In general, during the second readings readers made shorter duration fixations, fewer fixations, and longer saccades. When fixation times on the target words were examined, results showed that fixation durations were shorter for high frequency words during both readings and that the decrease in fixation duration was similar in magnitude for low and high frequency words. This suggests that word frequency and repetition independently influenced reading time. In addition, replacing a target with a synonym did not increase processing time for the replacement word. This suggests that conceptual repetition was sufficient for obtaining repetition effects when reading text.

Processes Involved in the Resolution of Explicit Anaphors.

Two experiments were conducted to examine the processes involved in the reactivation of antecedents in response to explicit anaphors (i.e., anaphors that are both lexically and conceptually identical to an antecedent). Participants read passages containing anaphors that were either lexically and conceptually identical to a target antecedent, or passages containing anaphors that were lexically identical to but conceptually different from a target antecedent. Experiment 1 demonstrated that explicit anaphors only reactivate target antecedents when they are both lexically and conceptually identical to a target antecedent. However, as the distance between an anaphor and its antecedent increased, even an explicit anaphor did not reactivate a target antecedent. In Experiment 2, an adjective modifier was added to the anaphoric noun phrase, which increased the degree of featural overlap between the anaphoric noun phrase and the target antecedent. With the added information in the anaphoric noun phrase, distant ant...

Effects of Automatic Associative Activation on Explicit and Implicit Memory Tests

Ss made either a graphemic or a semantic decision concerning word pairs during a study phase. Pair relatedness effects were observed in behavioral measures for the semantic task only, but a physiological measure (event-related potential) showed relatedness effects for both study tasks. Relatedness at study helped subsequent memory for tests involving word generation (fragment completion and cued recall). These effects was independent of those of level of processing on memory

Monitoring changes in cognitive load during reading: an event-related brain potential and reaction time analysis.

Factors that contribute to cognitive load during reading were examined using a secondary task procedure. In three experiments, subjects read sets of passages twice in succession while auditory probes were presented. The N1-P2 and P300 components of the event-related brain potential and reaction time (RT) responses to secondary auditory probes were used as measures of load. N1-P2 responses indicated decreased load during the second reading, whereas P300 and RT responses indicated increased load during the second reading. The results are interpreted as reflecting changes in task demands. Lower level elements of the task, such as word recognition and local aspects of comprehension, required fewer resources during the second reading. The N1-P2 reflected this reduction in resource demands. By contrast, the amount of resources devoted to higher level processes, such as comparing the text with ones prior representation and updating memory, increased during the second reading. This resulted from task demands, which emphasized memory of the material. P300 and RT reflected this increase in higher level demands. Results are described in terms of attentional and task demands and are taken as support for a componential description of reading and task difficulty.

A context-dependent representation model for explaining text repetition effects

The purpose of this article is to review abstract and episodic models of text repetition effects, describe the research supporting these types of models, and propose a new model called thecontextdependent representation model, which can explain both abstract-like and episodic-like repetition effects. The basic assumptions of the model are that the surface form and textbase are represented in a context-independent manner, and a coherent situation model binds together the surface features and the textbase and leads to context-dependent representation. When the situation model is well developed, it limits repetition benefits to semantically or contextually similar texts. This produces contextdependent repetition effects, which are functionally similar to episodic repetition effects. When the situation model is not well developed or not task relevant, repetition benefits are not limited to contextually similar texts. This produces context-independent repetition effects, which are functionally similar to abstract repetition effects. The context-dependent representation model provides a theoretical basis for explaining past research, and it can serve as a guide for future research aimed at understanding text repetition effects as well as text comprehension and memory.

Detection of Guilty Knowledge with Event-Related Potentials

The N400 component of the event-related potential (ERP) is elicited by words that complete sentence falsely. The utility of the N400 in discriminating subjects who have knowledge of a crime from those who do not was examined in this study. Post hoc analyses indicated that 78% of subjects could be correctly classified as guilty or innocent. With further development, ERPs may become useful auxiliaries to current lie-detection techniques.

Repetition Effects From Paraphrased Text: Evidence for an Integrated Representation Model of Text Representation

The effect of text repetition on reading performance and memory was examined. Participants read a set of short passages, each twice in succession. The second reading was either the same text or a paraphrased version of the original text. Both same texts and paraphrased texts were read faster during the second reading, but the repetition effect was slightly smaller for paraphrased texts. This was reflected by changes in global measures of reading performance (e.g., reduced reading time) and by reduced fixation durations on individual words. The results are consistent with a model of text repetition effects in which wording is represented in an abstract, context-independent manner, whereas the situation described by the text is represented in an episodic, context-dependent manner