Eye movement control in reading: accounting for initial fixation locations and refixations within the E-Z Reader model.
Reilly and O'Regan (1998, Vision Research, 38, 303-317) used computer simulations to evaluate how well several different word-targeting strategies could account for results which show that the distributions of fixation locations in reading are systematically related to low-level oculomotor variables, such as saccade distance and launch site [McConkie, Kerr, Reddix & Zola, (1988). Vision Research, 28, 1107-1118]. Their simulation results suggested that fixation locations are primarily determined by word length information, and that the processing of language, such as the identification of words, plays only a minimal role in deciding where to move the eyes. This claim appears to be problematic for our model of eye movement control in reading, E-Z Reader [Rayner, Reichle & Pollatsek (1998). Eye movement control in reading: an overview and model. In G. Underwood, Eye guidance in reading and scene perception (pp. 243-268). Oxford, UK: Elsevier; Reichle, Pollatsek, Fisher & Rayner (1998). Psychological Review, 105, 125-157], because it assumes that lexical access is the engine that drives the eyes forward during reading. However, we show that a newer version of E-Z Reader which still assumes that lexical access is the engine driving eye movements also predicts the locations of fixations and within-word refixations, and therefore provides a viable framework for understanding how both linguistic and oculomotor variables affect eye movements in reading.
Reichle
E D
ED
Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. reichle+@andrew.cmu.edu
Rayner
K
K
Pollatsek
A
A
D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011932:Reading; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology