Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
Published on: November 30, 2018
What Can Eye Movements Tell Us about Higher Level Comprehension?
1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Abstract:
The majority of eye tracking studies in reading are on issues dealing with word level or sentence level comprehension. By comparison, relatively few eye tracking studies of reading examine questions related to higher level comprehension in processing of longer texts. We present data from an eye tracking study of anaphor resolution in order to examine specific issues related to this discourse phenomenon and to raise more general methodological and theoretical issues in eye tracking studies of discourse processing. This includes matters related to the design of materials as well as the interpretation of measures with regard to underlying comprehension processes. In addition, we provide several examples from eye tracking studies of discourse to demonstrate the kinds of questions that may be addressed with this methodology, particularly with respect to the temporality of processing in higher level comprehension and how such questions correspond to recent theoretical arguments in the field.
Related Concept Videos
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Muscles of the Eye
Extraocular Muscles
The six extraocular muscles surround the eyeball and control its movements. They are responsible for a wide range of eye motions, including looking up, down, left, right, and...
Vision
Accessory Structures of the Eye
Anatomy of the Eyeball

