This experiment addressed the question of whether reading comprehension and speed could be predicted by eye fixations. From a sample of university students who completed tests of reading comprehension and vocabulary, we selected a group of highly skilled readers and a group of less skilled readers. These two groups then read sentences as their eye movements were monitored, with fixation locations and durations recorded. A discriminant function analysis showed that fixation duration was a successful predictor of reading comprehension, but that the number of fixations, regressive fixations, reading speed, and vocabulary were not reliable predictors. A multiple regression analysis revealed that reading speed was predicted by the number of fixations, the average fixation duration, and the duration of the final fixation upon the sentence, but there was no relationship with reading ability. Highly skilled readers are those who can extract information efficiently, but are not necessarily those who have fast overall reading rates.
Aaronson, D., and Scarborough, H.S. (1976). Performance theories for sentence coding: Some quantitative evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2, 56–70.
2.
Baddeley, A., Logie, R., Nimmo-Smith, I., and Brereton, N. (1985). Components of fluent reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 24, 119–131.
3.
Black, E.L. (1962). Comprehension Test for College of Education Students.Slough: NFER Publishing Co.
4.
Cumming, G.D. (1977). Eye movements and visual perception. In E.C. Carterette and M. Friedman (eds.), Handbook of Perception, Volume 9 (pp. 221–255). New York: Academic Press.
5.
Ehrlich, S.F., and Rayner, K. (1981). Contextual effects on word perception and eye movements during reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 20, 641–655.
6.
Graesser, A.C., Hoffman, N.L., and Clark, L.F. (1980). Structural components of reading time. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 19, 135–151.
7.
Hyönä, J., Niemi, P., and Underwood, G. (1989). Reading long words embedded in sentences: Informativeness of word halves affects eye movements. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 15, 142–152.
8.
Jackson, M.d., and McClelland, J.L. (1975). Sensory and cognitive determinants of reading speed. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 14, 565–574.
9.
Just, M.A., and Carpenter, P.A. (1978). Inference processes during reading: Reflections from eye fixations. In J.W. Senders, D.F. Fisher, and R.A. Monty (eds.), Eye Movements and the Higher Psychological Processes (pp. 157–174). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
10.
Just, M.A., and Carpenter, P.A. (1980). A theory of reading: From eye fixations to comprehension. Psychological Review, 87, 329–354.
11.
Kennedy, R.A. (1978). Eye movements and the integration of semantic information during reading. In M.M. Gruneberg, P.E. Morris, and R.N. Sykes (eds.), Practical Aspects of Memory (pp. 484–490). London: Academic Press.
12.
Kennedy, R.A., and Murray, W.S. (1987). The components of reading time: Eye movement patterns of good and poor readers. In J.K. O'Regan and A. Lévy-Schoen (eds.), Eye Movements: From Physiology to Cognition (pp. 509–520). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
13.
Kucera, H., and Francis, W. (1967). Computational Analysis of Present-day American English.Providence, RI: Brown University Press.
14.
Masson, M.E.J. (1985). Rapid reading processes and skills. In G.E. MacKinnon and T.G. Waller (eds.), Reading Research: Advances in Theory and Practice, Volume 6 (pp. 13–66). New York: Academic Press.
15.
Murray, W.S. and Kennedy, A. (1988). Spatial coding in the processing of anaphor by good and poor readers: Evidence from eye movement analyses. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 40A, 693–718.
16.
Olson, R.K., Kliegl, R., and Davidson, B.J. (1983). Eye movements in reading disability. In K. Rayner (ed.), Eye Movements in Reading: Perceptual and Language Processes (pp. 467–479). New York: Academic Press.
17.
O'Regan, J.K., Lévy-Schoen, A., Pynte, J., and Brugallére, B. (1984). Convenient fixation location with isolated words of different length and structure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10, 250–257.
18.
Raven, J.C. (1977). The Mill-Hill Vocabulary Scale.London: Lewis.
19.
Rayner, K. (1978). Eye movements in reading and information processing. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 618–660.
20.
Rayner, K., Carlson, M., and Frazier, L. (1983). The interaction of syntax and semantics during sentence processing: Eye movements in the analysis of semantically biased sentences. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22, 358–374.
21.
Rayner, K., and Duffy, S.A. (1986). Lexical complexity and fixation times in reading: Effects of word frequency, verb complexity, and lexical ambiguity. Memory & Cognition, 14, 191–201.
22.
Tatsuoka, M. (1971). Multivariate Analysis: Techniques for Eductional and Psychological Research.New York: Wiley.
23.
Underwood, G., Bloomfield, R., and Clews, S. (1988). Information influences the pattern of eye fixations during sentence comprehension. Perception, 17, 267–278.
24.
Underwood, G., Clews, S., and Everatt, J. (1990). How do readers know where to look next? Local information distributions influence eye fixations. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 42A, 39–65.
25.
Wilkinson, H.P. (1976). Wide range eye and head movement monitor. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 28, 123–124.
