title: Dissociating preview validity and preview difficulty in parafoveal processing of word n + 1 during reading.
abstract: Many studies have shown that previewing the next word n + 1 during reading leads to substantial processing benefit (e.g., shorter word viewing times) when this word is eventually fixated. However, evidence of such preprocessing in fixations on the preceding word n when in fact the information about the preview is acquired is far less consistent. A recent study suggested that such effects may be delayed into fixations on the next word n + 1 (Risse & Kliegl, 2012). To investigate the time course of parafoveal information-acquisition on the control of eye movements during reading, we conducted 2 gaze-contingent display-change experiments and orthogonally manipulated the processing difficulty (i.e., word frequency) of an n + 1 preview word and its validity relative to the target word. Preview difficulty did not affect fixation durations on the pretarget word n but on the target word n + 1. In fact, the delayed preview-difficulty effect was almost of the same size as the preview benefit associated with the n + 1 preview validity. Based on additional results from quantile-regression analyses on the time course of the 2 preview effects, we discuss consequences as to the integration of foveal and parafoveal information and potential implications for computational models of eye guidance in reading.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Risse
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kliegl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements / Q000295:instrumentation; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult