Skip to main content

Spelling ability influences early letter encoding during reading: Evidence from return-sweep eye movements.

Parker, A.J. and Slattery, T., 2021. Spelling ability influences early letter encoding during reading: Evidence from return-sweep eye movements. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 74 (1), 135-149.

Full text available as:

[img] PDF
QJEP_accepted.pdf - Accepted Version
Restricted to Repository staff only
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

1MB
[img]
Preview
PDF (OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE)
1747021820949150.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

1MB

DOI: 10.1177/1747021820949150

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increase in research concerning individual differences in readers’ eye movements. However, this body of work is almost exclusively concerned with the reading of single-line texts. While spelling and reading ability have been reported to influence saccade targeting and fixation times during intra-line reading, where upcoming words are available for parafoveal processing, it is unclear how these variables impact fixations adjacent to return-sweeps. We, therefore, examined the influence of spelling and reading ability on return-sweep and corrective saccade parameters for 120 participants engaged in multiline text reading. Less skilled readers and spellers tended to launch their return-sweeps closer to the end of the line, prefer a viewing location closer to the start of the next, and made more return-sweep undershoot errors. We additionally report several skillrelated differences in readers’ fixation durations across multiline texts. Reading ability influenced all fixations except those resulting from return-sweep error. In contrast, spelling ability influenced only those fixations following accurate return-sweeps— where parafoveal processing was not possible prior to fixation. This stands in contrasts to an established body of work where fixation durations are related to reading but not spelling ability. These results indicate that lexical quality shapes the rate at which readers access meaning from the text by enhancing early letter encoding, and influences saccade targeting even in the absence of parafoveal target information.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1747-0218
Uncontrolled Keywords:Eye Movements; Reading; Return-sweeps; Individual Differences
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:34356
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:31 Jul 2020 08:47
Last Modified:14 Mar 2022 14:23

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

More statistics for this item...
Repository Staff Only -