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Against the existence of a range effect during reading
1Laboratoire de Psychologie Expérimentale, CNRS, Université René Descartes, Paris, France.
Vision Research
|January 1, 1991
Summary
The range effect, where eye movements overshoot near targets and undershoot far ones, was tested in reading. This study found no evidence of the range effect influencing initial word landing positions during normal reading.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Ocular Motor Behavior
- Reading Science
Background:
- The range effect describes a phenomenon where saccades (rapid eye movements) exhibit overshooting near targets and undershooting far targets.
- Previous research suggested this range effect could explain word landing positions in reading.
- Specifically, it was hypothesized that saccades launched from further away would land closer to a word's beginning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the range effect influences the initial landing position of saccades during reading.
- To test the hypothesis that saccade launch distance affects where the eye initially lands on a word.
Main Methods:
- Presenting isolated words at varying eccentricities (distances from the fixation point) within a single block of trials.
- Analyzing the initial landing position of the eye on the presented words.
- Comparing landing positions across different eccentricities to identify any range effect.
Main Results:
- The study found no significant difference in the eye's initial landing position on a word based on its eccentricity.
- Results contradicted the hypothesis that the range effect impacts word acquisition during reading.
Conclusions:
- The range effect does not appear to be a significant factor in determining initial saccade landing positions on words during reading.
- This challenges previous explanations for word landing patterns in normal reading behavior.