@article{SperlichMeixnerLaubrock2016, author = {Sperlich, Anja and Meixner, Johannes and Laubrock, Jochen}, title = {Development of the perceptual span in reading}, series = {Journal of experimental child psychology}, volume = {146}, journal = {Journal of experimental child psychology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {New York}, issn = {0022-0965}, doi = {10.1016/j.jecp.2016.02.007}, pages = {181 -- 201}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The perceptual span is a standard measure of parafoveal processing, which is considered highly important for efficient reading. Is the perceptual span a stable indicator of reading performance? What drives its development? Do initially slower and faster readers converge or diverge over development? Here we present the first longitudinal data on the development of the perceptual span in elementary school children. Using the moving window technique, eye movements of 127 German children in three age groups (Grades 1, 2, and 3 in Year 1) were recorded at two time points (T1 and T2) 1 year apart. Introducing a new measure of the perceptual span, nonlinear mixed-effects modeling was used to separate window size effects from asymptotic reading performance. Cross-sectional differences were well replicated longitudinally. Asymptotic reading rate increased monotonously with grade, but in a decelerating fashion. A significant change in the perceptual span was observed only between Grades 2 and 3. Together with results from a cross-lagged panel model, this suggests that the perceptual span increases as a consequence of relatively well established word reading. Stabilities of observed and predicted reading rates were high after Grade 1, whereas the perceptual span was only moderately stable for all grades. Comparing faster and slower readers as assessed at T1, in general, a pattern of stable between-group differences emerged rather than a compensatory pattern; second and third graders even showed a Matthew effect in reading rate and the perceptual span, respectively. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{SperlichSchadLaubrock2015, author = {Sperlich, Anja and Schad, Daniel and Laubrock, Jochen}, title = {When preview information starts to matter}, series = {Journal of cognitive psychology}, volume = {27}, journal = {Journal of cognitive psychology}, number = {5}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {2044-5911}, doi = {10.1080/20445911.2014.993990}, pages = {511 -- 530}, year = {2015}, abstract = {How is reading development reflected in eye-movement measures? How does the perceptual span change during the initial years of reading instruction? Does parafoveal processing require competence in basic word-decoding processes? We report data from the first cross-sectional measurement of the perceptual span of German beginning readers (n = 139), collected in the context of the large longitudinal PIER (Potsdamer Intrapersonale Entwicklungsrisiken/Potsdam study of intra-personal developmental risk factors) study of intrapersonal developmental risk factors. Using the moving-window paradigm, eye movements of three groups of students (Grades 1-3) were measured with gaze-contingent presentation of a variable amount of text around fixation. Reading rate increased from Grades 1-3, with smaller increases for higher grades. Perceptual-span results showed the expected main effects of grade and window size: fixation durations and refixation probability decreased with grade and window size, whereas reading rate and saccade length increased. Critically, for reading rate, first-fixation duration, saccade length and refixation probability, there were significant interactions of grade and window size that were mainly based on the contrast between Grades 3 and 2 rather than Grades 2 and 1. Taken together, development of the perceptual span only really takes off between Grades 2 and 3, suggesting that efficient parafoveal processing presupposes that basic processes of reading have been mastered.}, language = {en} } @article{RisseHohensteinKliegletal.2014, author = {Risse, Sarah and Hohenstein, Sven and Kliegl, Reinhold and Engbert, Ralf}, title = {A theoretical analysis of the perceptual span based on SWIFT simulations of the n+2 boundary paradigm}, series = {Visual cognition}, volume = {22}, journal = {Visual cognition}, number = {3-4}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1350-6285}, doi = {10.1080/13506285.2014.881444}, pages = {283 -- 308}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Eye-movement experiments suggest that the perceptual span during reading is larger than the fixated word, asymmetric around the fixation position, and shrinks in size contingent on the foveal processing load. We used the SWIFT model of eye-movement control during reading to test these hypotheses and their implications under the assumption of graded parallel processing of all words inside the perceptual span. Specifically, we simulated reading in the boundary paradigm and analysed the effects of denying the model to have valid preview of a parafoveal word n + 2 two words to the right of fixation. Optimizing the model parameters for the valid preview condition only, we obtained span parameters with remarkably realistic estimates conforming to the empirical findings on the size of the perceptual span. More importantly, the SWIFT model generated parafoveal processing up to word n + 2 without fitting the model to such preview effects. Our results suggest that asymmetry and dynamic modulation are plausible properties of the perceptual span in a parallel word-processing model such as SWIFT. Moreover, they seem to guide the flexible distribution of processing resources during reading between foveal and parafoveal words.}, language = {en} } @article{SchadEngbert2012, author = {Schad, Daniel and Engbert, Ralf}, title = {The zoom lens of attention simulating shuffled versus normal text reading using the SWIFT model}, series = {Visual cognition}, volume = {20}, journal = {Visual cognition}, number = {4-5}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hove}, issn = {1350-6285}, doi = {10.1080/13506285.2012.670143}, pages = {391 -- 421}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Assumptions on the allocation of attention during reading are crucial for theoretical models of eye guidance. The zoom lens model of attention postulates that attentional deployment can vary from a sharp focus to a broad window. The model is closely related to the foveal load hypothesis, i.e., the assumption that the perceptual span is modulated by the difficulty of the fixated word. However, these important theoretical concepts for cognitive research have not been tested quantitatively in eye movement models. Here we show that the zoom lens model, implemented in the SWIFT model of saccade generation, captures many important patterns of eye movements. We compared the model's performance to experimental data from normal and shuffled text reading. Our results demonstrate that the zoom lens of attention might be an important concept for eye movement control in reading.}, language = {en} } @article{BrzezickaKrejtzvonHeckeretal.2012, author = {Brzezicka, Aneta and Krejtz, Izabela and von Hecker, Ulrich and Laubrock, Jochen}, title = {Eye movement evidence for defocused attention in dysphoria - A perceptual span analysis}, series = {International journal of psychophysiology}, volume = {85}, journal = {International journal of psychophysiology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0167-8760}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.09.022}, pages = {129 -- 133}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The defocused attention hypothesis (von Hecker and Meiser, 2005) assumes that negative mood broadens attention, whereas the analytical rumination hypothesis (Andrews and Thompson, 2009) suggests a narrowing of the attentional focus with depression. We tested these conflicting hypotheses by directly measuring the perceptual span in groups of dysphoric and control subjects, using eye tracking. In the moving window paradigm, information outside of a variable-width gaze-contingent window was masked during reading of sentences. In measures of sentence reading time and mean fixation duration, dysphoric subjects were more pronouncedly affected than controls by a reduced window size. This difference supports the defocused attention hypothesis and seems hard to reconcile with a narrowing of attentional focus.}, language = {en} } @article{YanPanLaubrocketal.2013, author = {Yan, Ming and Pan, Jinger and Laubrock, Jochen and Kliegl, Reinhold and Shu, Hua}, title = {Parafoveal processing efficiency in rapid automatized naming a comparison between Chinese normal and dyslexic children}, series = {Journal of experimental child psychology}, volume = {115}, journal = {Journal of experimental child psychology}, number = {3}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {San Diego}, issn = {0022-0965}, doi = {10.1016/j.jecp.2013.01.007}, pages = {579 -- 589}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Dyslexic children are known to be slower than normal readers in rapid automatized naming (RAN). This suggests that dyslexics encounter local processing difficulties, which presumably induce a narrower perceptual span. Consequently, dyslexics should suffer less than normal readers from removing parafoveal preview. Here we used a gaze-contingent moving window paradigm in a RAN task to experimentally test this prediction. Results indicate that dyslexics extract less parafoveal information than control children. We propose that more attentional resources are recruited to the foveal processing because of dyslexics' less automatized translation of visual symbols into phonological output, thereby causing a reduction of the perceptual span. This in turn leads to less efficient preactivation of parafoveal information and, hence, more difficulty in processing the next foveal item.}, language = {en} }