Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading
Measuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading difficulties (RDs), has traditionally involved cognitive tasks that test reaction or response time, which only capture the efficiency at the output processing stage and neglect the internal stages of informati...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/12/1855 |
| _version_ | 1797381611824611328 |
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| author | Argyro Fella Maria Loizou Christoforos Christoforou Timothy C. Papadopoulos |
| author_facet | Argyro Fella Maria Loizou Christoforos Christoforou Timothy C. Papadopoulos |
| author_sort | Argyro Fella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Measuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading difficulties (RDs), has traditionally involved cognitive tasks that test reaction or response time, which only capture the efficiency at the output processing stage and neglect the internal stages of information processing. However, with eye-tracking methodology, we can reveal the underlying temporal and spatial processes involved in simultaneous processing and investigate whether these processes are equivalent across chronological or reading age groups. This study used eye-tracking to investigate the simultaneous processing abilities of 15 Grade 6 and 15 Grade 3 children with RDs and their chronological-age controls (15 in each Grade). The Grade 3 typical readers were used as reading-level (RL) controls for the Grade 6 RD group. Participants were required to listen to a question and then point to a picture among four competing illustrations demonstrating the spatial relationship raised in the question. Two eye movements (fixations and saccades) were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking system. The results showed that the Grade 3 RD group produced more and longer fixations than their CA controls, indicating that the pattern of eye movements of young children with RD is typically deficient compared to that of their typically developing counterparts when processing verbal and spatial stimuli simultaneously. However, no differences were observed between the Grade 6 groups in eye movement measures. Notably, the Grade 6 RD group outperformed the RL-matched Grade 3 group, yielding significantly fewer and shorter fixations. The discussion centers on the role of the eye-tracking method as a reliable means of deciphering the simultaneous cognitive processing involved in learning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:53:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab5c4fdfb89e4cc5a6ed5a20c8e3319a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:53:56Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab5c4fdfb89e4cc5a6ed5a20c8e3319a2023-12-22T14:00:17ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-11-011012185510.3390/children10121855Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in ReadingArgyro Fella0Maria Loizou1Christoforos Christoforou2Timothy C. Papadopoulos3School of Education, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 1700, CyprusMinistry of Education, Sport, and Youth, Nicosia 1434, CyprusDivision of Computer Science, Mathematics and Science, St. John’s University, New York, NY 11439, USADepartment of Psychology, Center for Applied Neuroscience, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, CyprusMeasuring simultaneous processing, a reliable predictor of reading development and reading difficulties (RDs), has traditionally involved cognitive tasks that test reaction or response time, which only capture the efficiency at the output processing stage and neglect the internal stages of information processing. However, with eye-tracking methodology, we can reveal the underlying temporal and spatial processes involved in simultaneous processing and investigate whether these processes are equivalent across chronological or reading age groups. This study used eye-tracking to investigate the simultaneous processing abilities of 15 Grade 6 and 15 Grade 3 children with RDs and their chronological-age controls (15 in each Grade). The Grade 3 typical readers were used as reading-level (RL) controls for the Grade 6 RD group. Participants were required to listen to a question and then point to a picture among four competing illustrations demonstrating the spatial relationship raised in the question. Two eye movements (fixations and saccades) were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye-tracking system. The results showed that the Grade 3 RD group produced more and longer fixations than their CA controls, indicating that the pattern of eye movements of young children with RD is typically deficient compared to that of their typically developing counterparts when processing verbal and spatial stimuli simultaneously. However, no differences were observed between the Grade 6 groups in eye movement measures. Notably, the Grade 6 RD group outperformed the RL-matched Grade 3 group, yielding significantly fewer and shorter fixations. The discussion centers on the role of the eye-tracking method as a reliable means of deciphering the simultaneous cognitive processing involved in learning.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/12/1855simultaneous processingeye movementsreading difficultiesreading-level match designconsistent orthographies |
| spellingShingle | Argyro Fella Maria Loizou Christoforos Christoforou Timothy C. Papadopoulos Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading Children simultaneous processing eye movements reading difficulties reading-level match design consistent orthographies |
| title | Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading |
| title_full | Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading |
| title_fullStr | Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading |
| title_full_unstemmed | Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading |
| title_short | Eye Movement Evidence for Simultaneous Cognitive Processing in Reading |
| title_sort | eye movement evidence for simultaneous cognitive processing in reading |
| topic | simultaneous processing eye movements reading difficulties reading-level match design consistent orthographies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/12/1855 |
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