Development of the perceptual span in reading: A longitudinal study.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• The perceptual span is vital for efficient reading by measuring parafoveal processing.
• Understanding the stability and developmental trajectory of the perceptual span is key to explaining reading development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the longitudinal development of the perceptual span in elementary school children.
• To determine factors influencing perceptual span development and reader convergence/divergence.
• To examine the relationship between perceptual span and reading rate over time.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 127 German children across three grades (Grades 1-3) over one year.
• Utilized the moving window technique to record eye movements at two time points.
• Employed nonlinear mixed-effects modeling and cross-lagged panel models for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Reading rate increased with grade but decelerated; perceptual span significantly changed only between Grades 2 and 3.
• The perceptual span appears to develop as a consequence of established word reading skills.
• Reading rates were highly stable post-Grade 1, while perceptual span showed moderate stability.
• Faster and slower readers exhibited stable differences, with a Matthew effect observed in later grades.

Conclusions:

• The perceptual span's development is linked to reading proficiency, with increases following established word reading.
• Individual differences in reading speed and perceptual span tend to persist and even widen during elementary school.
• Findings highlight the importance of early reading interventions to mitigate the Matthew effect.