scholarly journals Interaction effects of aging, word frequency, and predictability on saccade length in Chinese reading

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e8860
Author(s):  
Zhifang Liu ◽  
Wen Tong ◽  
Yongqiang Su
Keyword(s):  
Target Word ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Chinese Reading ◽  
Saccade Length ◽  
Total Reading Time

Background It was well known that age has an impact on word processing (word frequency or predictability) in terms of fixating time during reading. However, little is known about whether or not age modulates these impacts on saccade behaviors in Chinese reading (i.e., length of incoming/outgoing saccades for a target word). Methods Age groups, predictability, and frequency of target words were manipulated in the present study. A larger frequency effect on lexical accessing (i.e., gaze duration) and on context integration (i.e., go-past time, total reading time), as well as larger predictability effects on data of raw total reading time, were observed in older readers when compared with their young counterparts. Results Effect of predictability and frequency on word skipping and re-fixating rate did not differ across the two age groups. Notably, reliable interaction effects of age, along with word predictability and/or frequency, on the length of the first incoming/outgoing saccade for a target word were also observed. Discussion Our findings suggest that the word processing function of older Chinese readers in terms of saccade targeting declines with age.

scholarly journals The Trade-Off Between Format Familiarity and Word-Segmentation Facilitation in Chinese Reading

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingjing Chen ◽  
Yongsheng Wang ◽  
Bingjie Zhao ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Xuejun Bai
Keyword(s):  
Reading Time ◽  
Reading Speed ◽  
Word Segmentation ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Chinese Reading ◽  
Facilitation Effect ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Word Boundaries ◽  
Total Reading Time ◽  
Chinese Undergraduates

In alphabetic writing systems (such as English), the spaces between words mark the word boundaries, and the basic unit of reading is distinguished during visual-level processing. The visual-level information of word boundaries facilitates reading. Chinese is an ideographic language whose text contains no intrinsic inter-word spaces as the marker of word boundaries. Previous studies have shown that the basic processing unit of Chinese reading is also a word. However, findings remain inconsistent regarding whether inserting spaces between words in Chinese text promotes reading performance. Researchers have proposed that there may be a trade-off between format familiarity and the facilitation effect of inter-word spaces. In order to verify this, this study manipulated the format familiarity via reversing the Chinese reading direction from right to left to investigate this issue in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to examine whether inter-word spaces facilitated Chinese reading in an unfamiliar format. Experiment 1 was conducted that 40 native Chinese undergraduates read Chinese sentences from right to left on four format conditions. The results showed faster reading speed and shorter total reading time for the inter-word spaced format. Based on this finding, Experiment 2 examined whether the facilitation effect of inter-word spaces would reduce or disappear after improving the format familiarity; this experiment was conducted that 40 native Chinese undergraduates who did not participate in Experiment 1 read Chinese sentences from right to left on four format conditions after ten-day reading training. There was no significant difference between the total reading time and reading speed in the inter-word spaced format and unspaced format, which suggests that the facilitation effect of inter-word spaces in Chinese reading changed smaller. The combined results of the two experiments suggest that there is indeed a trade-off between format familiarity and the facilitation of word segmentation, which supports the assumption of previous studies.

Lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation: Two sides of the same coin for bilingual reading across the adult lifespan

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
VERONICA WHITFORD ◽  
DEBRA TITONE
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Cross Language

We used eye movement measures of paragraph reading to examine whether two consequences of bilingualism, namely, reduced lexical entrenchment (i.e., reduced lexical quality and accessibility arising from less absolute language experience) and cross-language activation (i.e., simultaneous co-activation of target- and non-target-language lexical representations) interact during word processing in bilingual younger and older adults. Specifically, we focused on the interaction between word frequency (a predictor of lexical entrenchment) and cross-language neighborhood density (a predictor of cross-language activation) during first- and second-language reading. Across both languages and both age groups, greater cross-language (and within-language) neighborhood density facilitated word processing, indexed by smaller word frequency effects. Moreover, word frequency effects and, to a lesser extent, cross-language neighborhood density effects were larger in older versus younger adults, potentially reflecting age-related changes in lexical accessibility and cognitive control. Thus, lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation multiplicatively influence bilingual word processing across the adult lifespan.

scholarly journals The Word Frequency Effect in Word Processing: An Updated Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Brysbaert ◽  
Paweł Mandera ◽  
Emmanuel Keuleers
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Word Frequency Effect ◽  
Frequency Measure ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
High Frequency Words

The word frequency effect refers to the observation that high-frequency words are processed more efficiently than low-frequency words. Although the effect was first described over 80 years ago, in recent years it has been investigated in more detail. It has become clear that considerable quality differences exist between frequency estimates and that we need a new standardized frequency measure that does not mislead users. Research also points to consistent individual differences in the word frequency effect, meaning that the effect will be present at different word frequency ranges for people with different degrees of language exposure. Finally, a few ongoing developments point to the importance of semantic diversity rather than mere differences in the number of times words have been encountered and to the importance of taking into account word prevalence in addition to word frequency.

Eye movements when reading sentences with handwritten words

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Perea ◽  
Ana Marcet ◽  
Beatriz Uixera ◽  
Marta Vergara-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Target Word ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Word Frequency Effect ◽  
Fixation Durations ◽  
Lexical Effects

The examination of how we read handwritten words (i.e., the original form of writing) has typically been disregarded in the literature on reading. Previous research using word recognition tasks has shown that lexical effects (e.g., the word-frequency effect) are magnified when reading difficult handwritten words. To examine this issue in a more ecological scenario, we registered the participants’ eye movements when reading handwritten sentences that varied in the degree of legibility (i.e., sentences composed of words in easy vs. difficult handwritten style). For comparison purposes, we included a condition with printed sentences. Results showed a larger reading cost for sentences with difficult handwritten words than for sentences with easy handwritten words, which in turn showed a reading cost relative to the sentences with printed words. Critically, the effect of word frequency was greater for difficult handwritten words than for easy handwritten words or printed words in the total times on a target word, but not on first-fixation durations or gaze durations. We examine the implications of these findings for models of eye movement control in reading.

The Word Frequency Effect

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 412-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Brysbaert ◽  
Matthias Buchmeier ◽  
Markus Conrad ◽  
Arthur M. Jacobs ◽  
Jens Bölte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
German Language ◽  
Word Frequency Effect ◽  
Processing Data ◽  
Google Books ◽  
Word Frequencies ◽  
Decision Times

We review recent evidence indicating that researchers in experimental psychology may have used suboptimal estimates of word frequency. Word frequency measures should be based on a corpus of at least 20 million words that contains language participants in psychology experiments are likely to have been exposed to. In addition, the quality of word frequency measures should be ascertained by correlating them with behavioral word processing data. When we apply these criteria to the word frequency measures available for the German language, we find that the commonly used Celex frequencies are the least powerful to predict lexical decision times. Better results are obtained with the Leipzig frequencies, the dlexDB frequencies, and the Google Books 2000–2009 frequencies. However, as in other languages the best performance is observed with subtitle-based word frequencies. The SUBTLEX-DE word frequencies collected for the present ms are made available in easy-to-use files and are free for educational purposes.

scholarly journals Effects of aging and text-stimulus quality on the word-frequency effect during Chinese reading.

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingxin Wang ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
Sha Li ◽  
Fang Xie ◽  
Simon P. Liversedge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Stimulus Quality ◽  
Word Frequency Effect ◽  
Chinese Reading ◽  
Effects Of Aging
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