Does the Timing of Visual Support Affect Sentence Comprehension? An Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

Purpose: Recent research suggests that visual elements improve sentence processing for students, even at the university level. However, few studies have systematically examined the timing of visual support in reading. Method: We examined the impact of visual support and its timing on sentence comprehension in a sample of 40 typically developing university students. Across 60 sentences, half with images and half without, participants either viewed images simultaneously with sentences or before sentences. Word frequency was also manipulated. Results: Results showed that visual support facilitated sentence processing and that participants who viewed images before sentences exhibited a lower probability of regressions. Conclusion: In conclusion, incorporating images with text can benefit language comprehension. Moreover, the results suggest implications regarding the timing of visual support.

Keywords:

• Eye movements
• image timing
• sentence processing
• visual support

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study and the syntaxes used to perform the statistical analyses are available at: https://osf.io/s28f5/?view_only=b5ce705485b04684bd4074cd61f7ee0a.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the V Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia of the University of Seville (PPI2016-IV.5). The work of Miriam Rivero-Contreras is supported by a research grant from the University of Seville (PP2019-12336). The work of Pablo Delgado is supported by the grant Ayudas a los Agentes del Sistema Andaluz del Conocimiento para la Contratación de Personal Investigador Doctor (PAIDI DOCTOR 21; Regional Government of Andalusia, Spain).