Abstract
The present experimental data demonstrate that in a simple letter-search task using a highly repetitive spatial pattern, the use of a block structure similar to the one we are familiar with in a reading situation (blocks of characters separated by blank spaces) does not facilitate scanning behavior. The presence of blank spaces interspersed irregularly within lines ofxs which have to be scanned in search of a target letter causes a decrease in fixation durations but also decreases saccade size. The results can be understood in terms of an inhibition of visual processing by the presence of the blank spaces: the visual span for the different target letters was found to be significantly smaller when blank spaces were present within the background than when they were absent. Saccade sizes adapt to this change in visual span and become smaller, confirming the visual-span-control hypothesis for scanning eye movements (Jacobs, 1986). When saccades become smaller, less information is extracted at each fixation, causing a decrease in processing times and shorter fixation durations.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Becker, W., &Jügers, R. (1979). An analysis of the saccadic system by means of double step stimuli.Vision Research,19, 967–983.
Brady, M. (1981). Toward a computational theory of early visual processing in reading.Visible Language,15, 183–215.
Eriksen, C. W., &Schulz, D. W. (1978). Temporal factors in visual information processing: A tutorial review. In J. Requin (Ed.),Attention and performance, VII. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Findlay, J. M. (1983). Visual information processing for saccadic eye movements. In A. Hein & M. Jeannerod (Eds.),Spatially oriented behavior. New York: Springer.
Finney, D. J. (1947).Probit analysis. Cambridge: University Press.
Fisher, D. F. (1975). Reading and visual search.Memory & Cognition,3, 188–196.
Humbert, R. (1985). Comparaison par simulation de méthodes adaptatives de mesure de seuil.Bulletin de la Socicété Française d’Optique Physiologique,4, 2.
Jacobs, A. M. (1986). Eye movement control in visual search: How direct is visual span control?Perception & Psychophysics,39, 47–58.
Jacobs, A. M. (1987). Towards a model of eye movement control in visual search. In J. K. O’Regan & A. Lévy-Schoen (Eds.),Eye movements: From physiology to cognition (pp. 275–284). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Jacobs, A. M., & O’Regar, J. K. (in press). Spatial and/or temporal adjustments of scanning behavior to visibility changes.Acta Psychologica.
Kahnemann, D., &Henik, A. (1977). Effects of visual grouping on immediate recall and selective attention. In S. Dornic (Ed.),Attention and performance, VI (pp. 307–332). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lévy-Schoen, A., O’Regan, J. K., Jacobs, A. M., &Coëffé, C. (1984). The relation between visibility span and eye movements in various scanning tasks. In A. G. Gale & F. Johnson (Eds.),Theoretical and applied aspects of eye movement research. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
McConkie, G. W. (1983). Eye movements and perception during reading. In K. Rayner (Ed.),Eye movements in reading: Perceptual and language processes (pp. 3–30). New York: Academic Press.
McConkie, G. W., &Zola, D. (1984). Eye movement control during reading: The effect of word units. In W. Prinz & A. F. Sanders (Eds.),Cognition and motor processes. Berlin: Springer.
McCorme, G. W., Zola, D., &Blanchard, H. (1984). What is the basis for making an eye movement during reading? In A. G. Gale & F. Johnson (Eds.),Theoretical and applied aspects of eye movement research (pp. 169–178). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Menz, C., &Groner, R. (1985). Experiments on visual orientation in reading: Effects of lining, letter spacing and inserted elements. In R. Groner, G. W. McConkie, & C. Menz (Eds.),Eye movements and human information processing (pp. 183–196). Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Mewhort, D. J. K., Marchetti, F. M., &Campbell, A. J. (1982). Blank characters in tachistoscopic recognition: Space has both a symbolic and a sensory role.Canadian Journal of Psychology,36, 559–575.
Moffitt, K. (1980). Evaluation of the fixation duration in visual search.Perception & Psychophysics,27, 360–372.
Morrison, R. E. (1984). Manipulations of stimulus onset delay in reading: Evidence for parallel programming of saccades.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,10, 667–682.
Momusor, R. E., &Rayner, K. (1981). Saccade size in reading depends upon character spaces and not visual angle.Perception & Psychophysics,30, 395–396.
Nattkemper, D., &Prinz, W. (1987). Determinants of fixation duration in continuous search. In J. K. O’Regan & A. Lévy-Schoen (Eds.),Eye movements: From physiology to cognition. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
O’Regan, J. K. (1979). Saccade size control in reading: Evidence for the linguistic control hypothesis.Perception & Psychophysics,25, 501–509.
O’Regas, J. K., &Lévy-Schoen, A. (Eds.). (1987).Eye movements: From physiology to cognition. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
O’Regan, J. K., Lévy-Schoen, A., &Jacobs, A. M. (1983). The effect of visibility on eye movement parameters in reading.Perception & Psychophysics,34, 457–464.
Pollatsek, A., &Rayner, K. (1982). Eye movement control in reading: The role of word boundaries.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance,8, 817–833.
Rayner, K. (1984). Visual selection in reading, picture perception and visual search. In H. Bouma & D. G. Bouwhuis (Eds.),Attention and performance X (pp. 67–96). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rayner, K., &Fisher, D. L. (1987). Eye movements and the perceptual span during visual search. In J. K. O’Regan & A. Lévy-Schoen (Eds.),Eye movements: From physiology to cognition. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Rayner, K., &Pollatsek, A. (1981). Eye movement control during reading: Evidence for direct control.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,33A, 351–373.
Watt, R. J., &Andrews, D. P. (1981). APE: Adaptive Probit Estimation of psychometric function.Current Psychological Reviews,1, 205–214.
Wolford, G., &Chambers, L. (1983). Lateral masking as a function of spacing.Perception & Psychophysics,33, 129–138.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported by a grant from the FYSSEN Foundation, Paris.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jacobs, A.M. On the role of blank spaces for eye-movement control in visual search. Perception & Psychophysics 41, 473–479 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203040
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203040