Through (Tracking) Their Eyes: Abstraction and Complexity in Program Comprehension

Previous studies on writing and understanding programs presented evidence that programmers beyond a novice stage utilize plans or plan-like structures. Other studies on code composition showed that learners have difficulties with writing, reading, and debugging code where interacting plans are merged into a short piece of code. In this article, we focus on the question of how different code-composition strategies and the familiarity with code affect program comprehension on a more abstract, i.e., algorithmic level. Using an eye-tracking setup, we explored how advanced students comprehend programs and their underlying algorithms written in either a merged or abutted (sequenced) composition of code blocks of varying familiarity. The effects of familiarity and code composition were studied both isolated and in combination. Our analysis of the quantitative data adds to our understanding of the behavior reported in previous studies and the effects of plans and their composition on the programs’ difficulty. Using this data along with retrospective interviews, we analyze students’ reading patterns and provide support that subjects were able to form mental models of program execution during task performance. Furthermore, our results suggest that subjects are able to retrieve and create schemata when the program is composed of familiar templates, which may improve their performance; we found indicators for a higher element-interactivity for programs with a merged code composition compared to abutted code composition.

The effects of visual formats on Facebook health-related posts: evidence from eye movement analysis

PurposeThis study aimed to provide user-centered evidence for health professionals to make optimal use of images for the effective dissemination of health information on Facebook (FB).Design/methodology/approachUsing an eye-tracking experiment and a survey method, this study examined 42 participants' reading patterns as well as recall and recognition outcomes with 36 FB health information posts having various FB post features.FindingsThe findings demonstrated that FB posts with text-embedded images received more attention and resulted in the highest recall and recognition. Meanwhile, compared to text-embedded images, visual only images yielded less effective recall of information, but they caught the viewers' attention; graphics tended to attract more attention than photos. For effective communication, the text features in FB posts should align with the formats of the images.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide practical implications for health information disseminators by suggesting that text-embedded images should be used for effective health communication.Originality/valueThis study provided evidence of users' different viewing patterns for FB health information posts and the relationship between FB post types and recall and recognition outcomes.

Moses or Noah? A case of ‘potato-potahto’ when using a foreign language

Research among bilinguals suggests a foreign language effect for various tasks requiring a more systematic processing style. For instance, bilinguals seem less prone to heuristic reasoning when solving problem statements in their foreign (FL) as opposed to their native (NL) language. The present study aimed to determine whether such an effect might also be observed in the detection of semantic anomalies. Participants were presented NL and FL questions with and without anomalies while their eye movements were recorded. Overall, they failed to detect the anomaly in more than half of the trials. Furthermore, more illusions occurred for questions presented in the FL, indicating an FL disadvantage. Additionally, eye movement analyses suggested that reading patterns for anomalies are predominantly similar across languages. Our results therefore substantiate theories suggesting that FL use induces cognitive load, causing increased susceptibility to illusions due to partial semantic processing.

Article: Watching people decide: decision prediction using heatmaps of reading a decision-support document

Introduction: Previous studies show that reading behavior varies with the readers’ Levels of Expertise (LoE) in a task area. Except for LoE, other factors like acquired information plays a role in this process. In the area of health policymaking, people read supporting documents to inform their decisions. This leads to a natural question: could it be possible to predict the decisions based on the reading pattern of the supporting document on top of their LoE? Method: We collected eye tracker data from a group of people with various LoE. We used the heatmaps as the primary pattern of reading. These were prepared using the average fixation duration of the individuals. First, we performed a hierarchical cluster analysis with the pairwise correlation matrix between the heatmaps, to see whether heatmaps as A single feature were effective to reach our goal. In the second step, we made an ensemble of the features of the reading patterns from the heatmaps and pupillometric features, and LoE, with the decision made by the participants as an outcome, using AdaBoost regressor. In this decision-making task, one could choose one among expensive, prudent, and midway. Result: The first analysis reveals to us that there are a minority number of individuals who read less than the majority group. This minority group tends to make decisions in the extremities. The result of AdaBoost-regressor, shows us 1. the LoE is a stronger feature than the patterns of reading to predict the decision to be taken. 2. the pupillometric features are weaker feature than the reading patterns from the heatmaps for our task. Conclusion: Reading patterns could be useful for forecasting a decision, given the LoE of the individual. Heatmaps can be used as both qualitative and quantitative measures for reading patterns.

When nothing goes right, go left: A large-scale evaluation of bidirectional self-paced reading

In two web-based experiments, we evaluated the bidirectional self-paced reading (BSPR) paradigm recently proposed by Paape and Vasishth (2021). We used four sentence types: NP/Z garden-path sentences, RRC garden-path sentences, sentences containing inconsistent discourse continuations, and sentences containing reflexive anaphors with feature-matching but grammatically unavailable antecedents. Our results show that regressions in BSPR are associated with a decrease in positive acceptability judgments. Across all sentence types, we observed online reading patterns that are consistent with the existing eye-tracking literature. NP/Z but not RRC garden-path sentences also showed some indication of selective rereading, as predicted by the selective reanalysis hypothesis of Frazier and Rayner (1982). However, selective rereading was associated with decreased rather than increased sentence acceptability, which is not in line with the selective reanalysis hypothesis. We discuss the implications regarding the connection between selective rereading and conscious awareness, and for the use of BSPR in general.

Processing voice morphology and argument structure by Greek Beginning Readers and children with Reading Difficulties

Studies on the processing of non-active (NACT) voice have indicated that passive sentences are more difficult to comprehend and require more time to process. Children with Reading Difficulties (RDs) face problems with sentence comprehension, which are often attributed to phonological processing, working memory, syntactic awareness limitations, or a maturation delay. Using an online self-paced reading task, we investigated the effect of voice morphology and argument structure on sentence processing in 3 groups of participants; 30 children RDs, 28 Age-Matched (AM) controls without RDs, and 28 young Beginning Readers (BRs). Our results suggest that although the RDs and BR groups present similar reading times, their reading patterns differ qualitatively. Beginning Readers experienced greater processing delays when processing NACT structures, suggesting that they have not yet fully grasped the properties of the various NACT verbs. However, the RDs group presents effects not found in the BR group; children with RDs were sensitive to the properties of the different types of NACT verbs showing (a) evidence that the language processor successfully engages in predictions based on the morphosyntactic and lexical characteristics of verbs and (b) preference for default/prototypical readings. These results point toward processing limitations that are greatly affected by syntactic complexity.

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE READING PATTERNS OF KHANDWA DISTRICT STUDENTS

The aim of the research was to evaluate students' reading patterns and how they affected their academic success. The research was carried out in the Khandwa District of Nimar's Eastern Region. The data was gathered using a questionnaire. The obtained data was quantitatively studied using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS).The findings were presented in the form of graphs and charts. 100 of the 150 questionnaires circulated were filled and returned, accounting for 95.0 percent of the total. The results revealed that while the majority of respondents recognize the value of reading, 81.9 percent of respondents have not read a book or a piece of fiction in the last two semesters, and 62.0 percent of respondents still read to pass an exam.The study found that reading habits have an impact on academic success and that there is a connection between reading habits and academic achievement. The study suggested, among other things, that lecturers avoid handing out handouts to students and instead allow them to use the library for studying, and that the new method of grading students be reconsidered in terms of grading formulae.