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Effects of contextual predictability and transitional probability on eye movements during reading
Steven Frisson1, Keith Rayner, Martin J Pickering
1Department of Psychology, New York University, USA.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|October 27, 2005
Summary
Transitional probability does not independently affect reading speed. Predictability, not transitional probability, influences how quickly we read words, with effects seen even in weakly constraining contexts.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Psychology
- Computational Linguistics
Background:
- Reading involves processing word sequences.
- Transitional probability (TP) and contextual predictability are factors influencing reading.
- Previous research suggested TP might independently affect reading times.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if transitional probability (TP) independently affects reading times.
- To determine if TP effects occur separately from contextual predictability.
- To examine the timing and context-dependency of predictability effects in reading.
Main Methods:
- Two eye-movement experiments were conducted.
- Participants read sentences with varying transitional probability and predictability.
- Reading times for specific words were measured using eye-tracking.
Main Results:
- Experiment 1 showed faster reading for high TP words, but this was attributed to predictability.
- Experiment 2, with controlled items, found predictability effects but no independent TP effect.
- Predictability effects were detected early in reading and in weakly constraining contexts.
Conclusions:
- Effects previously attributed to transitional probability are part of broader predictability effects.
- Predictability influences reading speed early in the process.
- Contextual predictability is a key factor in fluent reading.