Are individual differences in reading speed related to extrafoveal visual acuity and crowding?

  • Readers differ considerably in their speed of self-paced reading. One factor known to influence fixation durations in reading is the preprocessing of words in parafoveal vision. Here we investigated whether individual differences in reading speed or the amount of information extracted from upcoming words (the preview benefit) can be explained by basic differences in extrafoveal vision-i.e., the ability to recognize peripheral letters with or without the presence of flanking letters. Forty participants were given an adaptive test to determine their eccentricity thresholds for the identification of letters presented either in isolation (extrafoveal acuity) or flanked by other letters (crowded letter recognition). In a separate eye-tracking experiment, the same participants read lists of words from left to right, while the preview of the upcoming words was manipulated with the gaze-contingent moving window technique. Relationships between dependent measures were analyzed on the observational level and with linear mixed models. WeReaders differ considerably in their speed of self-paced reading. One factor known to influence fixation durations in reading is the preprocessing of words in parafoveal vision. Here we investigated whether individual differences in reading speed or the amount of information extracted from upcoming words (the preview benefit) can be explained by basic differences in extrafoveal vision-i.e., the ability to recognize peripheral letters with or without the presence of flanking letters. Forty participants were given an adaptive test to determine their eccentricity thresholds for the identification of letters presented either in isolation (extrafoveal acuity) or flanked by other letters (crowded letter recognition). In a separate eye-tracking experiment, the same participants read lists of words from left to right, while the preview of the upcoming words was manipulated with the gaze-contingent moving window technique. Relationships between dependent measures were analyzed on the observational level and with linear mixed models. We obtained highly reliable estimates both for extrafoveal letter identification (acuity and crowding) and measures of reading speed (overall reading speed, size of preview benefit). Reading speed was higher in participants with larger uncrowded windows. However, the strength of this relationship was moderate and it was only observed if other sources of variance in reading speed (e.g., the occurrence of regressive saccades) were eliminated. Moreover, the size of the preview benefit-an important factor in normal reading-was larger in participants with better extrafoveal acuity. Together, these results indicate a significant albeit moderate contribution of extrafoveal vision to individual differences in reading speed.show moreshow less

Download full text files

  • phr494.pdfeng
    (389KB)

    SHA-1: 60b3e337501da4830f5e67dd025ccbd9a6b968ca

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author details:Romy Frömer, Olaf DimigenORCiDGND, Florian Niefind, Reinhold KlieglORCiDGND, Werner Sommer
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-408003
ISSN:1866-8364
Title of parent work (English):Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe
Publication series (Volume number):Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe (494)
Publication type:Postprint
Language:English
Date of first publication:2018/12/10
Publication year:2015
Publishing institution:Universität Potsdam
Release date:2018/12/10
Tag:attention; eye-movement control; fixation; object recognition; perceptual span; preview benefit; readers; repetition; resolution; syntactic ambiguity
Issue:494
Number of pages:18
Source:PLOS ONE 10 (2015) 3, Art. e0121986 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121986
Organizational units:Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät
DDC classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 50 Naturwissenschaften / 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik
6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access
Grantor:Public Library of Science (PLOS)
License (German):License LogoCC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
External remark:Bibliographieeintrag der Originalveröffentlichung/Quelle
Accept ✔
This website uses technically necessary session cookies. By continuing to use the website, you agree to this. You can find our privacy policy here.