Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading
Published on: October 18, 2018
Spill the load: Mixed evidence for a foveal load effect, reliable evidence for a spillover effect in eye-movement
Eva Findelsberger1, Florian Hutzler1, Stefan Hawelka2
1Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, 5020, Salzburg, Austria.
Abstract:
It has been hypothesized that the processing difficulty of the fixated word (i.e., "foveal load") modulates the amount of parafoveal preprocessing of the next word. Evidence for the hypothesis has been provided by the application of parafoveal masks within the boundary paradigm. Other studies that applied alternative means of manipulating the parafoveal preview (i.e., visual degradation) could not replicate the effect of foveal load. The present study examined the effect of foveal load by directly comparing the application of parafoveal masks (Exp. 1) with the alternative manipulation of visually degrading the parafoveal preview (Exp. 2) in adult readers. Contrary to expectation, we did not find the foveal-load interaction in the first experiment with traditional letter masks. We did, however, find the expected interaction in the second experiment with visually degraded previews. Both experiments revealed a spillover effect indicating that the processing of a word is not (always) fully completed when the reader already fixates the next word (i.e., processing "spills over" to the next word). The implications for models of eye-movement control in reading are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
The Evidence for Evolution
Load-frequency control
Impact Loading
In cases of elastic deformation,...
Eccentric Loading
Distributed Loads
For example, consider a bookshelf filled with books stacked vertically adjacent to each other. The weight of the books is evenly distributed over the length of the shelf. As a result, the pressure at different locations on the surface of the...
Stress: General Loading Conditions
The shearing force, possessing potential directionality within the plane of the section, is simplified into two component forces running parallel to the x and y axes....

