Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading
Published on: October 18, 2018
Role descriptions induce gender mismatch effects in eye movements during reading
Chiara Reali1, Yulia Esaulova1, Anton Öttl2
1Department of Psychology, University of Duisburg-Essen Essen, Germany.
Abstract:
The present eye-tracking study investigates the effect of gender typicality on the resolution of anaphoric personal pronouns in English. Participants read descriptions of a person performing a typically male, typically female or gender-neutral occupational activity. The description was followed by an anaphoric reference (he or she) which revealed the referent's gender. The first experiment presented roles which were highly typical for men (e.g., blacksmith) or for women (e.g., beautician), the second experiment presented role descriptions with a moderate degree of gender typicality (e.g., psychologist, lawyer). Results revealed a gender mismatch effect in early and late measures in the first experiment and in early stages in the second experiment. Moreover, eye-movement data for highly typical roles correlated with explicit typicality ratings. The results are discussed from a cross-linguistic perspective, comparing natural gender languages and grammatical gender languages. An interpretation of the cognitive representation of typicality beliefs is proposed.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Confirmation Biases
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Motivational Bias
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Actor-Observer Effect

