TY - JOUR
A1 - Risse, Sarah
A1 - Seelig, Stefan
T1 - Stable preview difficulty effects in reading with an improved variant of the boundary paradigm
JF - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology
N2 - Using gaze-contingent display changes in the boundary paradigm during sentence reading, it has recently been shown that parafoveal word-processing difficulties affect fixations on words to the right of the boundary. Current interpretations of this post-boundary preview difficulty effect range from delayed parafoveal-on-foveal effects in parallel word-processing models to forced fixations in serial word-processing models. However, these findings are based on an experimental design that, while allowing to isolate preview difficulty effects, might have established a bias with respect to asymmetries in parafoveal preview benefit for high-frequent and low-frequent target words. Here, we present a revision of this paradigm varying the preview’s lexical frequency and keeping the target word constant. We found substantial effects of the preview difficulty in fixation durations after the boundary confirming that preview processing affects the oculomotor decisions not only via trans-saccadic integration of preview and target word information. An additional time-course analysis showed that the preview difficulty effect was significant across the full fixation duration distribution on the target word without any evidence on the pretarget word before the boundary. We discuss implications of the accumulating evidence of post-boundary preview difficulty effects for models of eye movement control during reading.
KW - Eye tracking
KW - reading
KW - parafoveal preview benefit
KW - delayed parafoveal-on-foveal effects
KW - forced fixations
Y1 - 2019
U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021818819990
SN - 1747-0218
SN - 1747-0226
VL - 72
IS - 7
SP - 1632
EP - 1645
PB - Sage Publ.
CY - London
ER -
TY - THES
A1 - Seelig, Stefan
T1 - Parafoveal processing of lexical information during reading
T1 - Parafoveale Verarbeitung lexikalischer Informationen beim Lesen
BT - from experiments to computational modeling
BT - von Experimenten zu computationaler Modellierung
N2 - During sentence reading the eyes quickly jump from word to word to sample visual information with the high acuity of the fovea. Lexical properties of the currently fixated word are known to affect the duration of the fixation, reflecting an interaction of word processing with oculomotor planning. While low level properties of words in the parafovea can likewise affect the current fixation duration, results concerning the influence of lexical properties have been ambiguous (Drieghe, Rayner, & Pollatsek, 2008; Kliegl, Nuthmann, & Engbert, 2006). Experimental investigations of such lexical parafoveal-on-foveal effects using the boundary paradigm have instead shown, that lexical properties of parafoveal previews affect fixation durations on the upcoming target words (Risse & Kliegl, 2014). However, the results were potentially confounded with effects of preview validity.
The notion of parafoveal processing of lexical information challenges extant models of eye movements during reading. Models containing serial word processing assumptions have trouble explaining such effects, as they usually couple successful word processing to saccade planning, resulting in skipping of the parafoveal word. Although models with parallel word processing are less restricted, in the SWIFT model (Engbert, Longtin, & Kliegl, 2002) only processing of the foveal word can directly influence the saccade latency.
Here we combine the results of a boundary experiment (Chapter 2) with a predictive modeling approach using the SWIFT model, where we explore mechanisms of parafoveal inhibition in a simulation study (Chapter 4). We construct a likelihood function for the SWIFT model (Chapter 3) and utilize the experimental data in a Bayesian approach to parameter estimation (Chapter 3 & 4).
The experimental results show a substantial effect of parafoveal preview frequency on fixation durations on the target word, which can be clearly distinguished from the effect of preview validity. Using the eye movement data from the participants, we demonstrate the feasibility of the Bayesian approach even for a small set of estimated parameters, by comparing summary statistics of experimental and simulated data. Finally, we can show that the SWIFT model can account for the lexical preview effects, when a mechanism for parafoveal inhibition is added. The effects of preview validity were modeled best, when processing dependent saccade cancellation was added for invalid trials. In the simulation study only the control condition of the experiment was used for parameter estimation, allowing for cross validation. Simultaneously the number of free parameters was increased. High correlations of summary statistics demonstrate the capabilities of the parameter estimation approach. Taken together, the results advocate for a better integration of experimental data into computational modeling via parameter estimation.
N2 - Während des Lesens springt der Blick von Wort zu Wort, um visuelle Informationen mithilfe der hohen Auflösung der Fovea aufzunehmen. Lexikalische Eigenschaften eines zurzeit fixierten Wortes wirken sich dabei auf die Fixationsdauer aus, was eine Interaktion von Wortverarbeitung mit okulomotorischer Bewegungsplanung impliziert. Während Low-Level-Eigenschaften eines parafovealen Wortes ebenfalls die Fixationsdauer beeinflussen können, sind Ergebnisse zu Einflüssen lexikalischer Eigenschaften parafoveler Worte uneindeutig (Drieghe et al., 2008; Kliegl et al., 2006). Experimentelle Untersuchungen solcher parafoveal-on-foveal-Effekte mittels des Boundary-Paradigmas zeigten stattdessen, dass sich lexikalische Eigenschaften parafovealer Worte auf Fixationsdauern auf den Target-Wörtern auswirken (Risse & Kliegl, 2014). Diese Ergebnisse waren jedoch möglicherweise mit den Effekten der Preview-Validität konfundiert.
Die Möglichkeit parafovealer Verarbeitung lexikalischer Informationen stellt bestehende Modelle für Blickbewegungen beim Lesen vor Probleme. Modelle, die auf seriellen Wortverarbeitungsannahmen fußen, können derlei Effekte nicht schlüssig erklären, da in ihnen erfolgreiche Wortverarbeitung oft starr an Bewegungsplanung gekoppelt ist, was ein Überspringen des parafovealen Wortes zur Folge hätte. Obwohl Modelle mit paralleler Wortverarbeitung weniger eingeschränkt sind, kann im SWIFT-Modell (Engbert et al., 2002) nur die Verarbeitung fovealer Worte die Sakkadenplanung direkt hemmen.
Wir verbinden in dieser Arbeit die Ergebnisse eines Boundary-Experiments (Kapitel 2) mit einem prädiktiven Modellierungsansatz mit dem SWIFT-Modell, in dem wir Mechanismen parafovealer Hemmung in einer Simulationsstudie erkunden (Kapitel 4). Wir konstruieren eine Likelihood-Funktion für das SWIFT-Modell und nutzen die Experimentaldaten in einem Bayesianischen Ansatz zur Parameterschätzung (Kapitel 3 & 4).
In den Ergebnissen des Experiments zeigt sich ein substanzieller Frequenzeffekt des Previews auf die Fixationsdauer auf dem Target-Wort, der klar vom Effekt der Preview-Validität unterschieden werden kann. Mittels der Blickbewegungsdaten der Probanden demonstrieren wir die Praktikabilität des gewählten Ansatzes selbst mit nur wenigen freien Parametern, indem wir Statistiken der Probanden mit jenen aus Simulationen auf der Basis geschätzter Parameter vergleichen. Schließlich können wir zeigen, dass SWIFT die lexikalischen Preview-Effekte erzeugen kann, wenn das Modell zusätzlich mit einem Mechanismus parafovealer Inhibition ausgestattet wird. Die Effekte der Preview-Validität wurden hingegen am besten modelliert, wenn eine Möglichkeit zum Abbruch der Sakkadenplanung in Abhängigkeit von der Wortverarbeitung hinzugefügt wurde. In dieser Simulationsstudie wurden lediglich Daten der Kontrollbedingung des Experiments zur Parameterschätzung genutzt, wodurch eine Kreuzvalidierung der Güte der Simulationsdaten ermöglicht wurde. Gleichzeitig wurde die Zahl der freien Parameter erhöht. Hohe Korrelationen der Statistiken verdeutlichen das Potential des Parameterschätzungsansatzes. Zusammengenommen sprechen die Ergebnisse dafür, dass Experimentaldaten mehr zur computationalen Modellierung herangezogen werden sollten, indem Möglichkeiten der Parameterschätzung ausgenutzt werden.
KW - reading
KW - parafoveal processing
KW - predictive modeling
KW - boundary paradigm
KW - eye tracking
KW - MCMC
KW - parameter estimation
KW - computational modeling
KW - interindividual differences
KW - lexical processing
KW - MCMC
KW - computationale Modellierung
KW - Eye-Tracking
KW - Interindividuelle Unterschiede
KW - Lexikalische Verarbeitung
KW - Parafoveale Verarbeitung
KW - Parameterschätzung
KW - Lesen
KW - Boundary-Paradigma
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-508743
ER -
TY - GEN
A1 - Seelig, Stefan
A1 - Risse, Sarah
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
T1 - Predictive modeling of parafoveal information processing during reading
T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe
N2 - Skilled reading requires information processing of the fixated and the not-yet-fixated words to generate precise control of gaze. Over the last 30 years, experimental research provided evidence that word processing is distributed across the perceptual span, which permits recognition of the fixated (foveal) word as well as preview of parafoveal words to the right of fixation. However, theoretical models have been unable to differentiate the specific influences of foveal and parafoveal information on saccade control. Here we show how parafoveal word difficulty modulates spatial and temporal control of gaze in a computational model to reproduce experimental results. In a fully Bayesian framework, we estimated model parameters for different models of parafoveal processing and carried out large-scale predictive simulations and model comparisons for a gaze-contingent reading experiment. We conclude that mathematical modeling of data from gaze-contingent experiments permits the precise identification of pathways from parafoveal information processing to gaze control, uncovering potential mechanisms underlying the parafoveal contribution to eye-movement control.
T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 728
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-526665
SN - 1866-8364
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Seelig, Stefan
A1 - Risse, Sarah
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
T1 - Predictive modeling of parafoveal information processing during reading
JF - Scientific Reports
N2 - Skilled reading requires information processing of the fixated and the not-yet-fixated words to generate precise control of gaze. Over the last 30 years, experimental research provided evidence that word processing is distributed across the perceptual span, which permits recognition of the fixated (foveal) word as well as preview of parafoveal words to the right of fixation. However, theoretical models have been unable to differentiate the specific influences of foveal and parafoveal information on saccade control. Here we show how parafoveal word difficulty modulates spatial and temporal control of gaze in a computational model to reproduce experimental results. In a fully Bayesian framework, we estimated model parameters for different models of parafoveal processing and carried out large-scale predictive simulations and model comparisons for a gaze-contingent reading experiment. We conclude that mathematical modeling of data from gaze-contingent experiments permits the precise identification of pathways from parafoveal information processing to gaze control, uncovering potential mechanisms underlying the parafoveal contribution to eye-movement control.
Y1 - 2021
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 11
PB - Springer Nature
CY - Berlin
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Seelig, Stefan
A1 - Risse, Sarah
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
T1 - Predictive modeling of parafoveal information processing during reading
JF - Scientific reports
N2 - Skilled reading requires information processing of the fixated and the not-yet-fixated words to generate precise control of gaze. Over the last 30 years, experimental research provided evidence that word processing is distributed across the perceptual span, which permits recognition of the fixated (foveal) word as well as preview of parafoveal words to the right of fixation. However, theoretical models have been unable to differentiate the specific influences of foveal and parafoveal information on saccade control. Here we show how parafoveal word difficulty modulates spatial and temporal control of gaze in a computational model to reproduce experimental results. In a fully Bayesian framework, we estimated model parameters for different models of parafoveal processing and carried out large-scale predictive simulations and model comparisons for a gaze-contingent reading experiment. We conclude that mathematical modeling of data from gaze-contingent experiments permits the precise identification of pathways from parafoveal information processing to gaze control, uncovering potential mechanisms underlying the parafoveal contribution to eye-movement control.
Y1 - 2021
U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92140-z
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 11
IS - 1
PB - Nature Portfolio
CY - Berlin
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
A1 - Rabe, Maximilian Michael
A1 - Schwetlick, Lisa
A1 - Seelig, Stefan A.
A1 - Reich, Sebastian
A1 - Vasishth, Shravan
T1 - Data assimilation in dynamical cognitive science
JF - Trends in cognitive sciences
N2 - Dynamical models make specific assumptions about cognitive processes that generate human behavior. In data assimilation, these models are tested against timeordered data. Recent progress on Bayesian data assimilation demonstrates that this approach combines the strengths of statistical modeling of individual differences with the those of dynamical cognitive models.
Y1 - 2022
U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.11.006
SN - 1364-6613
SN - 1879-307X
VL - 26
IS - 2
SP - 99
EP - 102
PB - Elsevier
CY - Amsterdam
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Seelig, Stefan A.
A1 - Rabe, Maximilian Michael
A1 - Malem-Shinitski, Noa
A1 - Risse, Sarah
A1 - Reich, Sebastian
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
T1 - Bayesian parameter estimation for the SWIFT model of eye-movement control during reading
JF - Journal of mathematical psychology
N2 - Process-oriented theories of cognition must be evaluated against time-ordered observations. Here we present a representative example for data assimilation of the SWIFT model, a dynamical model of the control of fixation positions and fixation durations during natural reading of single sentences. First, we develop and test an approximate likelihood function of the model, which is a combination of a spatial, pseudo-marginal likelihood and a temporal likelihood obtained by probability density approximation Second, we implement a Bayesian approach to parameter inference using an adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure. Our results indicate that model parameters can be estimated reliably for individual subjects. We conclude that approximative Bayesian inference represents a considerable step forward for computational models of eye-movement control, where modeling of individual data on the basis of process-based dynamic models has not been possible so far.
KW - dynamical models
KW - reading
KW - eye movements
KW - saccades
KW - likelihood function
KW - Bayesian inference
KW - MCMC
KW - interindividual differences
Y1 - 2020
U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmp.2019.102313
SN - 0022-2496
SN - 1096-0880
VL - 95
PB - Elsevier
CY - San Diego
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Malem-Shinitski, Noa
A1 - Opper, Manfred
A1 - Reich, Sebastian
A1 - Schwetlick, Lisa
A1 - Seelig, Stefan A.
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
T1 - A mathematical model of local and global attention in natural scene viewing
JF - PLoS Computational Biology : a new community journal
N2 - Author summary
Switching between local and global attention is a general strategy in human information processing. We investigate whether this strategy is a viable approach to model sequences of fixations generated by a human observer in a free viewing task with natural scenes. Variants of the basic model are used to predict the experimental data based on Bayesian inference. Results indicate a high predictive power for both aggregated data and individual differences across observers. The combination of a novel model with state-of-the-art Bayesian methods lends support to our two-state model using local and global internal attention states for controlling eye movements.
Understanding the decision process underlying gaze control is an important question in cognitive neuroscience with applications in diverse fields ranging from psychology to computer vision. The decision for choosing an upcoming saccade target can be framed as a selection process between two states: Should the observer further inspect the information near the current gaze position (local attention) or continue with exploration of other patches of the given scene (global attention)? Here we propose and investigate a mathematical model motivated by switching between these two attentional states during scene viewing. The model is derived from a minimal set of assumptions that generates realistic eye movement behavior. We implemented a Bayesian approach for model parameter inference based on the model's likelihood function. In order to simplify the inference, we applied data augmentation methods that allowed the use of conjugate priors and the construction of an efficient Gibbs sampler. This approach turned out to be numerically efficient and permitted fitting interindividual differences in saccade statistics. Thus, the main contribution of our modeling approach is two-fold; first, we propose a new model for saccade generation in scene viewing. Second, we demonstrate the use of novel methods from Bayesian inference in the field of scan path modeling.
Y1 - 2020
U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007880
SN - 1553-734X
SN - 1553-7358
VL - 16
IS - 12
PB - PLoS
CY - San Fransisco
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Rabe, Maximilian Michael
A1 - Chandra, Johan
A1 - Krügel, André
A1 - Seelig, Stefan A.
A1 - Vasishth, Shravan
A1 - Engbert, Ralf
T1 - A bayesian approach to dynamical modeling of eye-movement control in reading of normal, mirrored, and scrambled texts
JF - Psychological Review
N2 - In eye-movement control during reading, advanced process-oriented models have been developed to reproduce behavioral data. So far, model complexity and large numbers of model parameters prevented rigorous statistical inference and modeling of interindividual differences. Here we propose a Bayesian approach to both problems for one representative computational model of sentence reading (SWIFT; Engbert et al., Psychological Review, 112, 2005, pp. 777-813). We used experimental data from 36 subjects who read the text in a normal and one of four manipulated text layouts (e.g., mirrored and scrambled letters). The SWIFT model was fitted to subjects and experimental conditions individually to investigate between- subject variability. Based on posterior distributions of model parameters, fixation probabilities and durations are reliably recovered from simulated data and reproduced for withheld empirical data, at both the experimental condition and subject levels. A subsequent statistical analysis of model parameters across reading conditions generates model-driven explanations for observable effects between conditions.
KW - reading eye movements
KW - dynamical models
KW - Bayesian inference
KW - oculomotor
KW - control
KW - individual differences
Y1 - 2021
U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000268
SN - 0033-295X
SN - 1939-1471
VL - 128
IS - 5
SP - 803
EP - 823
PB - American Psychological Association
CY - Washington
ER -