Chapter 7 – Reading

A rapid eye movement lasting 20-60ms during reading which moves the focus of the eye from one word or point in the sentence to another.

A period during reading when the eyes are still and focused on a word or point in the sentence. It lasts 200-250ms and this is when we acquire information from the text.

The area that readers can retrieve visual information from in a fixation.

A backward saccade or eye movement which takes place during reading. These are more common when the material being read is challenging.

A model that uses computer software to simulate a complex system such as processes involved in reading. Different parameters within the model can be adjusted to reflect how the processes might operate. The model can then be tested using data from experiments with humans.

The meaning of words and phrases.

Relating to the visual representation or spelling of words (orthography). Words are made up of orthographic units called graphemes.

The smallest sound unit that combines with other sound units to make words. ‘Ship’ has 3 phonemes: /ʃ/, /ɪ/, /p/. The symbols used are from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and are used by phoneticians (experts in phonetics) to accurately transcribe the sounds used in different languages.

A grapheme is a written unit which consists of one or more letters which map onto a single phoneme. ‘Ship’ has 3 graphemes: ‘sh’, ‘i’, ‘p’.

Which speech sounds are used and how they are organised in specific languages.

Rules for combination of words into meaningful phrases and sentences.

A sentence in which the structure appears to unfold in one way (sending you down one path) but then a word or clause makes the first interpretation meaningless and so you have to reparse the sentence.

The use of electrodes placed on the scalp to record electrical activity in the brain. EEGS are non-invasive and relatively inexpensive as imaging techniques go. It is good at picking up activity as it happens (it has good temporal resolution) but is not able to be precise about the spatial location of the activity (it lacks spatial resolution).

The sensation we experience of ‘hearing’ words in our head. When we read silently it is the words in the text we hear and when we replay recent conversations and imagine what we might have said differently, it is the voice we hear speaking.

A technique used where participants are required to repeat a word or sound during an experiment to prevent them using their articulatory loop (see Chapter 10) to rehearse stimuli they are presented with sub-vocally (using inner speech).

Mental store of information about word representations. Many models of word recognition refer to lexica for specific types of knowledge. For example, an orthographic lexicon contains information about the spelling of words.

An integrated mental representation of the meaning of a piece of text or other description of a situation (for example, playing, a telephone call and so on etc).

This is where you allow your eyes to pass quickly over a piece of text whilst trying to get the gist of what you are reading.

A technique in which the stimuli (words in this chapter) are presented very quickly, one after another. In reading research, this prevents participants from being able to look back at preceding words.