Abstract
Henderson and Ferreira (1990) found that foveal load (manipulated via word frequency) modulates parafoveal processing, thereby affecting the amount of preview benefit obtained from the word to the right of fixation. The present experiment used the eye-contingent boundary paradigm and, consistent with Henderson and Ferreira, showed that foveal load modulated preview benefit for participants who were not aware of the display changes during reading. Also, for these participants, foveal load modulated preview benefit regardless of fixation durations on the foveal word. For participants who were aware of the display change, preview benefits occurred regardless of foveal processing difficulty. These results have important implications for understanding the way in which foveal load influences parafoveal processing during reading.
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The project was initiated when the second author was awarded a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship to visit the University of Durham. The study was undertaken while the first and third authors were on research visits at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The first author’s visit was supported by a Study Visit Grant from the Experimental Psychology Society. The third author’s visit was supported by British Academy Research Visit Award SG 35469. This research was also supported by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Grant 12/S19168 and by Grant HD26765 from the National Institutes of Health.
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White, S.J., Rayner, K. & Liversedge, S.P. Eye movements and the modulation of parafoveal processing by foveal processing difficulty: A reexamination. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 12, 891–896 (2005). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196782
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196782