Abstract
The frequencies of three consecutive content words were simultaneously varied in the first sentence of a two-sentence passage. Various eye movement measures of first-pass processing (first-fixation duration, gaze duration, and go-past time) all revealed frequency effects for all three words. The size of the effect did not differ significantly across the three words on either first-fixation duration or gaze duration, but it increased markedly for go-past time from the first to the second word, possibly indicating an accumulation of the difficulty of processing. In addition, there was a delayed effect of the frequency manipulation: For the sentences with three low-frequency words, processing at the beginning of the next (second) sentence was lengthened. (The beginning of the second sentence was always at least four words from the last of the frequency-manipulated words.) These findings indicate that word frequency has effects beyond initial lexical access in reading. A list of the experimental items and supplemental analyses may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Drieghe, D., Rayner, K., &Pollatsek, A. (2005). Eye movements and word skipping during reading revisited.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,31, 954–959.
Ehrlich, S. F., &Rayner, K. (1981). Contextual effects on word perception and eye movements during reading.Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior,20, 641–655.
Engbert, R., Longtin, A., &Kliegl, R. (2002). A dynamical model of saccade generation in reading based on spatially distributed lexical processing.Vision Research,42, 621–636.
Engbert, R., Nuthmann, A., Richter, E. M., &Kliegl, R. (2005). SWIFT: A dynamical model of saccade generation during reading.Psychological Review,112, 777–813.
Francis, W. N., &Kučera, H. (1982).Frequency analysis of English usage: Lexicon and grammar. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Hirotani, M., Frazier, L., &Rayner, K. (2006). Punctuation and intonation effects on clause and sentence wrap-up: Evidence from eye movements.Journal of Memory & Language,54, 425–443.
Inhoff, A. W., &Rayner, K. (1986). Parafoveal word processing during eye fixations in reading: Effects of word frequency.Perception & Psychophysics,40, 431–439.
Juhasz, B. J., Liversedge, S. P., White, S. J., &Rayner, K. (2006). Binocular coordination of the eyes during reading: Word frequency and case alternation affect fixation duration but not fixation disparity.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,59, 1614–1625.
Just, M. A., &Carpenter, P. A. (1980). A theory of reading: From eye fixations to comprehension.Psychological Review,87, 329–354.
Kliegl, R., Nuthmann, A., &Engbert, R. (2006). Tracking the mind during reading: The influence of past, present, and future words on fixation durations.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,135, 12–35.
Liversedge, S. P., Paterson, K. B., &Pickering, M. (1998). Eye movements and measures of reading time. In G. Underwood (Ed.),Eye guidance in reading and scene perception (pp. 55–75). Oxford: Elsevier.
Pollatsek, A., Reichle, E. D., &Rayner, K. (2006). Tests of the E-Z Reader model: Exploring the interface between cognition and eyemovement control.Cognitive Psychology,52, 1–56.
Pollatsek, A., &Well, A. D. (1995). On the use of counterbalanced designs in cognitive research: A suggestion for a better and more powerful analysis.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,21, 785–794.
Rayner, K. (1998). Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research.Psychological Bulletin,124, 372–422.
Rayner, K., &Duffy, S. A. (1986). Lexical complexity and fixation times in reading: Effects of word frequency, verb complexity, and lexical ambiguity.Memory & Cognition,14, 191–201.
Rayner, K., Kambe, G., &Duffy, S. A. (2000). The effect of clause wrap-up on eye movements during reading.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,53A, 1061–1080.
Rayner, K., Pollatsek, A., Drieghe, D., Slattery, T. J., &Reichle, E. D. (2007). Tracking the mind during reading via eye movements: Comments on Kliegl, Nuthmann, and Engbert (2006).Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,136, 520–529.
Rayner, K., Sereno, S., Morris, R., Schmauder, A., &Clifton, C., Jr. (1989). Eye movements and online language comprehension processes.Language & Cognitive Processes,4, 21–49.
Rayner, K., &Well, A. D. (1996). Effects of contextual constraint on eye movements in reading: A further examination.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,3, 504–509.
Reichle, E. D., Pollatsek, A., Fisher, D. L., &Rayner, K. (1998). Toward a model of eye movement control in reading.Psychological Review,105, 125–157.
Reichle, E. D., Rayner, K., &Pollatsek, A. (2003). The E-Z Reader model of eye-movement control in reading: Comparisons to other models.Behavioral & Brain Sciences,26, 445–526.
Reilly, R., &Radach, R. (2003). Foundations of an interactive activation model of eye movement control in reading. In J. Hyönö, R. Radach, & H. Deubel (Eds.),The mind’s eye: Cognitive and applied aspects of eye movement research (pp. 429–456). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Reilly, R., &Radach, R. (2006). Some empirical tests of an interactive activation model of eye movement control in reading.Cognitive Systems Research,7, 34–55.
Richter, E. M., Engbert, R., &Kliegl, R. (2006). Current advances in SWIFT.Cognitive Systems Research,7, 23–33.
Schroyens, W., Vitu, F., Brysbaert, M., &d’Ydewalle, G. (1999). Eye movement control during reading: Foveal load and parafoveal processing.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,52A, 1021–1046.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is based on the first author’s Master’s thesis at the University of Massachusetts, and portions of the data were presented at the European Conference on Eye Movements, Dundee, 2004. The research was supported by Grant HD26765 from the National Institutes of Health.
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Slattery, T.J., Pollatsek, A. & Rayner, K. The effect of the frequencies of three consecutive content words on eye movements during reading. Memory & Cognition 35, 1283–1292 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193601
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193601