The effects of reading comprehension and launch site on frequency–predictability interactions during paragraph reading

Abstract

We used eye movement measures of paragraph reading to examine whether word frequency and predictability interact during the earliest stages of lexical processing, with a specific focus on whether these effects are modulated by individual differences in reading comprehension or launch site (i.e., saccade length between the prior and currently fixated word—a proxy for the amount of parafoveal word processing). The joint impact of frequency and predictability on reading will elucidate whether these variables additively or multiplicatively affect the earliest stages of lexical access, which, in turn, has implications for computational models of eye movements during reading. Linear mixed effects models revealed additive effects during both early- and late-stage reading, where predictability effects were comparable for low- and high-frequency words. Moreover, less cautious readers (e.g., readers who engaged in skimming, scanning, mindless reading) demonstrated smaller frequency effects than more cautious readers. Taken together, our findings suggest that during extended reading, frequency and predictability exert additive influences on lexical and postlexical processing, and that individual differences in reading comprehension modulate sensitivity to the effects of word frequency.

Keywords:

• Reading
• Eye Movements
• Frequency
• Predictability
• Launch Site
• Comprehension.

This research was supported by the following grants to Debra Titone: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Award, the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and the Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music (CRBLM). We also gratefully acknowledge additional support from a Fonds Québecois de recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT) Masters scholarship and an NSERC doctoral scholarship awarded to Veronica Whitford.