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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
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Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading
Published on: October 18, 2018
Eye movements and non-canonical reading: comments on.
Keith Rayner1, Alexander Pollatsek, Simon P Liversedge
1Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, USA. krayner@ucsd.edu
Vision Research
|November 13, 2008
Summary
This study challenges claims that reading order violations disrupt serial processing models. Researchers argue that problematic data was selectively obtained and such events are infrequent during reading.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Computational Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Models of eye movement control in reading assume serial encoding of words.
- Kennedy and Pynte (2008) proposed that out-of-order word fixations challenge serial models.
- Their data focused on instances where the first word of a pair is skipped and the second fixated before regression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To contest the claims made by Kennedy and Pynte (2008) regarding eye movement control in reading.
- To argue that the data presented by Kennedy and Pynte is selectively obtained and not representative of typical reading.
- To assert that the findings do not pose significant challenges to serial reading models like E-Z Reader.
Main Methods:
- Re-analysis and critique of the data presented by Kennedy and Pynte (2008).
- Argumentation based on the frequency and nature of out-of-order fixations during reading.
- Theoretical defense of serial models of eye movement control in reading.
Main Results:
- The data supporting problematic out-of-order fixations was selectively obtained.
- Events of fixating word pairs out of order occur infrequently during natural reading.
- The arguments presented by Kennedy and Pynte do not invalidate serial reading models.
Conclusions:
- The challenges posed by Kennedy and Pynte to serial reading models are not substantial.
- The frequency and selective nature of the cited data limit its impact on understanding reading processes.
- Serial models, such as E-Z Reader, remain viable explanations for eye movement control in reading.
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