Description
The effects of word length on word skipping and saccade targeting during reading for comprehension are well established. The present (OSF preregistered) study provides an experimental test of how reading goals (reading for comprehension vs. skimming for gist) modulate effects of word length. Critical short (3-4 letter) and long (8-9 letter) words were embedded into 96 sentence frames. The study had a within participants and within items 2(reading goal: read, skim) X 2(word length: short, long) design (64 participants). For both reading and skimming short words were significantly more likely to be skipped, less likely to be refixated, and had shorter gaze durations compared to long words. Crucially, there were significant interactive effects of reading goal and length for word skipping and initial landing position. Short words were especially likely to be skipped during first-pass when skimming compared to reading for comprehension. In addition, initial first-pass fixations landed further into long words during skimming compared to reading. Crucially, these results indicate that the visuo-oculomotor mechanisms underlying which words are fixated, and where words are first fixated, are modulated by readers’ goals. The theoretical implications for the flexibility of the mechanisms underlying eye movement control during reading will be discussed.| Period | 23 Aug 2022 |
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| Event title | 21st European Conference on Eye Movements |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Leicester, United KingdomShow on map |