Name: decomposing the variance in reading comprehension to reveal the unique and common effects of language and decoding
Uploaded: 2018-10-11T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding at JoVE.com

The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through a subaward to Florida State University from Grant R305F100005 to the Educational Testing Service as part of the Reading for Understanding Initiative. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute, the U.S. Department of Education, the Educational Testing Service, or Florida State University.

Note: The steps below describe decomposing total variance in a dependent variable (Y) into unique variance, common variance, and unexplained variance components based on two selected independent variables (called <img alt="Equation 1" src="/files/ftp_upload/58557/58557eq1.jpg" /> and <img alt="Equation 2" src="/files/ftp_upload/58557/58557eq2.jpg" /> for this example) using software with a graphical user interface and data management software (see Table ...

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B., Zhang, X. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+dimensionality+of+language+ability+in+school-age+children.">The dimensionality of language ability in school-age children.</a> Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 49, 1193-1208 (2006).</li><li>Foorman, B., Herrera, S., Petscher, Y., Mitchell, A., Truckenmiller, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Structure+of+Oral+Language+and+Reading+and+Their+Relation+to+Comprehension+in+grades+kindergarten+through+grade+2.">The Structure of Oral Language and Reading and Their Relation to Comprehension in grades kindergarten through grade 2.</a> Reading and Writing. 28 (5), 655-681 (2015).</li><li>Foorman, B., Koon, S., Petscher, Y., Mitchell, A., Truckenmiller, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Examining+General+and+Specific+Factors+in+the+Dimensionality+of+Oral+Language+and+Reading+in+4th-10th+Grades.">Examining General and Specific Factors in the Dimensionality of Oral Language and Reading in 4th-10th Grades.</a> Journal of Educational Psychology. 107 (3), 884-899 (2015).</li><li>Kieffer, M., Petscher, Y., Proctor, C. P., Silverman, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Is+the+whole+greater+than+the+sum+of+its+parts?+Modeling+the+contributions+of+language+comprehension+skills+to+reading+comprehension+in+the+upper+elementary+grades.">Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts? Modeling the contributions of language comprehension skills to reading comprehension in the upper elementary grades.</a> Scientific Studies of Reading. 20 (6), 436-454 (2016).</li><li>Kim, Y. S. G., Park, C., Park, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dimensions+of+discourse+level+oral+language+skills+and+their+relation+to+reading+comprehension+and+written+composition:+an+exploratory+study.">Dimensions of discourse level oral language skills and their relation to reading comprehension and written composition: an exploratory study.</a> Reading and Writing. 28, 633-654 (2015).</li><li>Foorman, B., Petscher, Y., Herrera, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Unique+and+common+effects+of+decoding+and+language+factors+in+predicting+reading+comprehension+in+grades+1-10.">Unique and common effects of decoding and language factors in predicting reading comprehension in grades 1-10.</a> Learning and Individual Differences. 63, 12-23 (2018).</li><li>Perfetti, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Reading+ability:+Lexical+quality+to+comprehension.">Reading ability: Lexical quality to comprehension.</a> Scientific Studies of Reading. 11 (4), 357-383 (2007).</li><li>Perfetti, C., Stafura, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Word+knowledge+in+a+theory+of+reading+comprehension.">Word knowledge in a theory of reading comprehension.</a> Scientific Studies of Reading. 18 (4), 22-37 (2014).</li><li>Torgesen, J., Wagner, R., Rashotte, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Test of Word Reading Efficiency. , (2012).</li><li>Dunn, L., Dunn, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4. , (2007).</li><li>MacGinitie, W., MacGinitie, R., Maria, K., Dreyer, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. , (2000).</li><li>Wanzek, J., Wexler, J., Vaughn, S., Ciullo, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Reading+interventions+for+struggling+readers+in+the+upper+elementary+grades:+a+synthesis+of+20+years+of+research.">Reading interventions for struggling readers in the upper elementary grades: a synthesis of 20 years of research.</a> Reading &amp; Writing. 23, 889-912 (2010).</li><li>Foorman, B., Petscher, Y., Stanley, C., Herrera, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Latent+profiles+of+reading+and+language+and+their+association+with+standardized+reading+outcomes+in+kindergarten+through+tenth+grade.">Latent profiles of reading and language and their association with standardized reading outcomes in kindergarten through tenth grade.</a> Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. 10 (3), 619-645 (2017).</li><li>Lesaux, N. K., Kieffer, M. J., Kelley, J. 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There are three critical steps in the protocol for decomposing the variance in R into unique and common variance due to L and D. First, subtract the R2 in the L-only model from the full model to obtain the unique R2 for D. Second, subtract the R2 for the D-only model from the full model to obtain the unique R2 for L. Third, to obtain the common variance explained by L and D, subtract the sum of the two unique R2 from the R2 for the full model.
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The Simple View of Reading1 (SVR) continues as a popular model of reading because of its simplicity-reading (R) is the product of decoding (D) and language (L)-and because SVR tends to explain, on average, approximately 60% of explained variance in reading comprehension2. SVR predicts that correlations between D and R will decline over time and that correlations between L and R will increase over time. Studies generally support this prediction3,4,5. There are disagreements, however, about the functional form of SVR, with additive models (D + L = R) explaining significantly more variance in reading comprehension than product models (D &#215; L = R)6,7,8, and a combination of sum and product [R = D + L + (D &#215; L) explaining the largest amount of variance in reading comprehension3,9.
Recently the SVR model has expanded beyond regressions based on observed variables to latent variable modeling using confirmatory factory analysis and structural equation modeling. D is typically measured with untimed or timed reading of real words and/or nonwords and R is usually measured by a standardized reading test that includes literacy and informational passages followed by multiple-choice questions. L is typically measured by tests of expressive and receptive vocabulary and, especially in the primary grades, by measures of expressive and receptive syntax and listening comprehension. Most longitudinal studies report that L is unidimensional10,11,12,13. However, another longitudinal study14 reports a two-factor structure for L in the primary grades and a unidimensional structure in grades 4 and 8. Recent cross-sectional studies report that a bifactor model best fits the data and predicts R15,16,17,18. For example, Foorman et al.16 compared unidimensional, three-factor, four-factor, and bifactor models of SVR in data from students in grades 4-10 and found that a bifactor model fit best and explained 72% to 99% of the variance in R. A general L factor explained variance in all seven grades and vocabulary and syntax uniquely explained variance only in one grade each. Although the D factor was moderately correlated with L and R in all grades (0.40-0.60 and 0.47-0.74, respectively), it was not uniquely correlated with R in the presence of the general L factor.
Even though latent variable modeling has expanded SVR by shedding light on the dimensionality of L and the unique role that L plays in predicting R beyond the primary grades, no studies of SVR except one by Foorman et al.19 have partitioned the variance in reading comprehension into what is due uniquely to D and L and what is shared in common. This is a big omission in the literature. Conceptually it makes sense that D and L would share variance in predicting written language because word recognition entails the linguistic skills of phonology, semantics, and discourse at the sentence and text levels20. Similarly, linguistic comprehension must be connected to orthographic representations of phonemes, morphemes, words, sentences, and discourse if text is to be understood21. Multiplying D by L does not yield the knowledge shared by these components. Only decomposition of the variance into what is unique and what is shared by D and L in predicting R will reveal the integrated knowledge crucial to the success of educational interventions.
The one study by Foorman et al.19 that decomposed the variance of reading comprehension into what is unique and what is shared in common by D and L employed a latent variable modeling approach. The following protocol demonstrates the technique with data from students in grades 1, 7, and 10 based on single observed variables for D (timed decoding), L (receptive vocabulary), and R (standardized reading comprehension test) to make the decomposition process easy to understand. The data represent a subset of the data from Foorman et al.19.

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			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">IBM SPSS Statistics Software</td>
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			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Microsoft Office Excel</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Microsoft</td>
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			<td></td>
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decomposing the variance in reading comprehension to reveal the unique and common effects of language and decoding

The Simple View of Reading is a popular model of reading that claims that reading is the product of decoding and language, with each component uniquely predicting reading comprehension. Although researchers have argued whether the sum rather than the product of the components is the better predictor, no researchers have partitioned the variance explained to examine the extent to which the components share variance in predicting reading. To decompose the variance, we subtract the R2 for the language-only model from the full model to obtain the unique R2 for decoding. Second, we subtract the R2 for the decoding-only model from the full model to obtain the unique R2 for language. Third, to obtain the common variance explained by language and decoding, we subtract the sum of the two unique R2 from the R2 for the full model. The method is demonstrated in a regression approach with data from students in grades 1 (n = 372), 6 (n = 309), and 10 (n = 122) using an observed measure of language (receptive vocabulary), decoding (timed word reading), and reading comprehension (standardized test). Results reveal a relatively large amount of variance in reading comprehension explained in grade 1 by the common variance in decoding and language. By grade 10, however, it is the unique effect of language and the common effect of language and decoding that explained the majority of variance in reading comprehension. Results are discussed in the context of an expanded version of the Simple View of Reading that considers unique and shared effects of language and decoding in predicting reading comprehension.

The objective of this study was to investigate the contributions of unique and common variance of language (L) and decoding (D) to predicting reading comprehension (R) in grades 1, 7, and 10 in Florida, a state whose demographics are representative of the nation as a whole. There were two hypotheses regarding predictions of the variance explained in reading comprehension. First, after the primary grades, the unique contribution of D will significantly decrease, and the unique contribution...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding at JoVE.com

Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding

Here we present a protocol for decomposing the variance in reading comprehension into the unique and common effects of language and decoding.

The Simple View of Reading is a popular model of reading that claims that reading is the product of decoding and language, with each component uniquely ...

This method can help answer key questions in the social sciences field about the psychology of reading and language development. This technique illustrates how individual difference characteristics co-vary and how a unique effect may pail in comparison to an effect shared with other characteristics. The implications of this technique extend to the social sciences more broadly.As it allows accounting for the commonality of predictors that help us understand overlapping variance. To read the data into the software with a graphical user interface, click file and hover the mouse over open. Click data and locate the relevant data file on the computer.If the file type is not consistent with software with a graphical user interface, click files of type, and select the appropriate file format. Then click open. To explain the total variance based on two independent variables, click analyze and hover the mouse over regression to select linear.Click on the dependent variable in the variable list, followed by the arrow next to dependent. Click on the two independent variables in the variable list and click the arrow next to independence. Click okay and click the viewer window of the software.Use the mouse to scroll to the model summary section and record the value under R square. Then label this value total R squared. To explain the total variance based on independent variable one, repeat the total variance explanation with independent variable one only in the independent variable list and click the viewer window of the software.Then use the mouse to scroll to the model summary section, record the value under the R square column, and label this value independent variable one R squared. To explain the total variance based on independent variable two, repeat the total variance explanation with independent variable two only in the independent variable list and click the viewer window of the software. Then use the mouse to scroll to the model summary section, record the value under the R square column, and label this value independent variable two R squared.To compute the unique, common, and unexplained variance components, open the data management software, and enter the total R squared independent variable one R squared and independent variable two R squared into cells A1, B1, and C1 respectfully. Enter the total R squared value into A2.The independent variable one R squared value into B2, and the independent variable two R squared value into C2.To calculate the unique variance of variable one, enter the formula into D2, and label this value as unique variance of variable one in D1.To calculate the unique variance of variable two, enter the formula into E2, and label the value as unique variance of variable two in E1.To calculate the common variance between variables one and two, enter the formula into F2, and label this value as common various between variables one and two in F1.To calculate the unexplained variance, enter the formula into G2, and label this value unexplained variance in G1.To plot the unique variance of variable one, the unique variance of variable two, the common variance between variables one and two, and the unexplained variance, click and drag the mouse cells over D2, E2, F2, and G2 to highlight the data, and click insert, then click charts, pie chart, and 2D pie chart. In this representative study of unique and common variances of language and decoding for predicting reading comprehension, the regression analysis for grade one students accounted for 60%of the total variance in reading comprehension.When the variance in grade one was decomposed into unique and common effects, decoding uniquely explained the 24%of variance in reading comprehension, and language uniquely explained the 17%of variance. The common variance of decoding and language was 19%In grade seven, the regression analysis accounted for 53%of the total variance in reading comprehension. With decoding uniquely explained by 7%of the variance in reading comprehension, and language explained 28%of the variance.The common variance of decoding and language in explaining the variance in reading comprehension was 18%In grade 10, the regression analysis accounted for 61%of the total variance in reading comprehension. With decoding uniquely accounting for a 6%of the variance, and language uniquely accounting for 42%of the variance. The common variance of decoding and language in explaining the variance in reading comprehension was 13%While attempting this procedure, it's important to remember that the decomposition process differs from typical regression approaches of separately calculating the unique variance that each independent variable explains.This protocol can be modified to answer additional questions about whether the proportions of unique and common variances differ by socioeconomic status. Further, the observable variables can be replaced with latent variables to reduce measurement error. The amount of common variance that decoding and language together explain in predicting reading comprehension, especially in the elementary grades suggest that instruction should focus on the integration of linguistic knowledge at the word level.

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Using Eye Movements to Evaluate the Cognitive Processes Involved in Text Comprehension

The present article describes how to use eye tracking methodologies to study the cognitive processes involved in text comprehension. Measuring eye movements during reading is one of the most precise methods for measuring moment-by-moment (online) processing demands during text comprehension. Cognitive processing demands are reflected by several aspects of eye movement behavior, such as fixation duration, number of fixations, and number of regressions (returning to prior parts of a text). Important properties of eye tracking equipment that researchers need to consider are described, including how frequently the eye position is measured (sampling rate), accuracy of determining eye position, how much head movement is allowed, and ease of use. Also described are properties of stimuli that influence eye movements that need to be controlled in studies of text comprehension, such as the position, frequency, and length of target words. Procedural recommendations related to preparing the participant, setting up and calibrating the equipment, and running a study are given. Representative results are presented to illustrate how data can be evaluated. Although the methodology is described in terms of reading comprehension, much of the information presented can be applied to any study in which participants read verbal stimuli.

The present article describes how to use eye tracking methodologies to study the cognitive processes involved in text comprehension. Descriptions of eye tracking equipment, how to develop experimental stimuli, and procedural recommendations are included. The information presented can be applied to most any study using verbal stimuli.

The present article describes how to use eye  tracking methodologies to study the cognitive processes involved in text  comprehension. Measuring eye ...

Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses

Collecting reliable behavioral data from toddlers and preschoolers is challenging. As a result, there are significant gaps in our understanding of human auditory development for these age groups. This paper describes an observer-based procedure for measuring hearing sensitivity with a two-interval, two-alternative forced-choice paradigm. Young children are trained to perform a play-based, motor response (e.g., putting a block in a bucket) whenever they hear a target signal. An experimenter observes the child&#39;s behavior and makes a judgment about whether the signal was presented during the first or second observation interval; the experimenter is blinded to the true signal interval, so this judgment is based solely on the child&#39;s behavior. These procedures were used to test 2 to 4 year-olds (n = 33) with no known hearing problems. The signal was a 1,000 Hz warble tone presented in quiet, and the signal level was adjusted to estimate a threshold corresponding to 71%-correct detection. A valid threshold was obtained for 82% of children. These results indicate that the two-interval procedure is both feasible and reliable for use with toddlers and preschoolers. The two-interval, observer-based procedure described in this paper is a powerful tool for evaluating hearing in young children because it guards against response bias on the part of the experimenter.

This paper describes a procedure for measuring hearing sensitivity in 2 to 4 year-old children. Children are trained to perform play-based responses when they hear a target signal. Thresholds are then estimated in a two-interval, two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, based on observations of the child&#39;s behaviors.

Collecting reliable behavioral data from toddlers and preschoolers is challenging. As a result, there are significant gaps in our understanding of human ...

Behavioral Disturbances: An Innovative Approach to Monitor the Modulatory Effects of a Nutraceutical Diet

In dogs, diets are often used to modulate behavioral disturbances related to chronic anxiety and stress caused by intense and restless activity. However, the traditional ways to monitor behavioral changes in dogs are complicated and not efficient. In the current clinical evaluation, a new, simple monitoring system was used to assess the effectiveness of a specific diet in positively modulating the intense and restless activity of 24 dogs of different ages and breeds. This protocol describes how to easily and rapidly evaluate improvement in a set of symptoms related to generalized anxiety by using a specific sensor, a mobile phone app, a wireless router, and a computer. The results showed that dogs treated with specific diets showed significant improvement in the times spent active and at rest after 10 days (p &lt; 0.01 and p &lt; 0.05, respectively). These dogs also showed an overall significant improvement in clinical and behavioral symptoms. A specific sensor, along with its related hardware, was demonstrated to successfully monitor behavioral changes relating to movement in dogs.

We report a simple approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific diet in positively modulating the daily activity and clinical and behavioral symptoms of dogs with evident behavioral disturbances.

In dogs, diets are often used to modulate behavioral disturbances related to chronic anxiety and stress caused by intense and restless activity. However, ...

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

The memory game paradigm is a behavioral procedure to explore the relationship between language, spatial memory, and object knowledge. Using two different versions of the paradigm, spatial language use and memory for object location are tested under different, experimentally manipulated conditions. This allows us to tease apart proposed models explaining the influence of object knowledge on spatial language (e.g., spatial demonstratives), and spatial memory, as well as understanding the parameters that affect demonstrative choice and spatial memory more broadly. Key to the development of the method was the need to collect data on language use (e.g., spatial demonstratives: &#34;this/that&#34;) and spatial memory data under strictly controlled conditions, while retaining a degree of ecological validity. The language version (section 3.1) of the memory game tests how conditions affect language use. Participants refer verbally to objects placed at different locations (e.g., using spatial demonstratives: &#34;this/that red circle&#34;). Different parameters can be experimentally manipulated: the distance from the participant, the position of a conspecific, and for example whether the participant owns, knows, or sees the object while referring to it. The same parameters can be manipulated in the memory version of the memory game (section 3.2). This version tests the effects of the different conditions on object-location memory. Following object placement, participants get 10 seconds to memorize the object&#39;s location. After the object and location cues are removed, participants verbally direct the experimenter to move a stick to indicate where the object was. The difference between the memorized and the actual location shows the direction and strength of the memory error, allowing comparisons between the influences of the respective parameters.

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition

We present a protocol to explore the relationship between spatial language production, spatial memory, and object knowledge. The procedure allows experimental manipulation of, and control over, conditions of object knowledge, language at instruction, and physical location, thus teasing apart cognitive and linguistic models describing interactions between these variables.

The memory game paradigm is a behavioral procedure to explore the relationship between language, spatial memory, and object knowledge. Using two different ...

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

The present work is a description and an assessment of a methodology designed to quantify different aspects of the interaction between language processing and the perception of the visual world. The recording of eye-gaze patterns has provided good evidence for the contribution of both the visual context and linguistic/world knowledge to language comprehension. Initial research assessed object-context effects to test&#160;theories of modularity in language processing. In the introduction, we describe how subsequent investigations have taken the role of the wider visual context in language processing as a research topic in its own right, asking questions such as how our visual perception of events and of speakers contributes to&#160;comprehension informed by&#160;comprehenders&#39; experience. Among the examined aspects of the visual context are actions, events, a speaker&#39;s gaze, and emotional facial expressions, as well as spatial object configurations. Following an overview of the eye-tracking method and its different applications, we list the key steps of the methodology in the protocol, illustrating how to successfully use it to study visually-situated language comprehension. A final section presents three sets of representative results and illustrates the benefits and limitations of eye tracking for investigating the interplay between the perception of the visual world and language comprehension.

The present article reviews an eye-tracking methodology for studies on language comprehension. To obtain reliable data, key steps of the protocol must be followed. Among these are the correct set-up of the eye tracker (e.g., ensuring good quality of the eye and head images) and accurate calibration.

The present work is a description and an assessment of a methodology designed to quantify different aspects of the interaction between language processing ...

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

In a typical eye tracking study using the visual world paradigm, participants' eye movements to objects or pictures in the visual workspace are recorded via an eye tracker as the participant produces or comprehends a spoken language describing the concurrent visual world. This paradigm has high versatility, as it can be used in a wide range of populations, including those who cannot read and/or who cannot overtly give their behavioral responses, such as preliterate children, elderly adults, and patients. More importantly, the paradigm is extremely sensitive to fine grained manipulations of the speech signal, and it can be used to study the online processing of most topics in language comprehension at multiple levels, such as the fine grained acoustic phonetic features, the properties of words, and the linguistic structures. The protocol described in this article illustrates how a typical visual world eye tracking study is conducted, with an example showing how the online processing of some semantically complex statements can be explored with the visual world paradigm.

The visual world paradigm monitors participants' eye movements in the visual workspace as they are listening to or speaking a spoken language. This paradigm can be used to investigate the online processing of a wide range of psycholinguistic questions, including semantically complex statements, such as disjunctive statements.

In a typical eye tracking study using the visual world paradigm, participants' eye movements to objects or pictures in the visual workspace are recorded ...

Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading

Regressive eye movements are eye movements that move backwards through the text and comprise approximately 10-25% of eye movements during reading. As such, understanding the causes and mechanisms of regressions plays an important role in understanding eye movement behavior. Inhibition of return (IOR) is an oculomotor effect that results in increased latency to return attention to a previously attended target versus a target that was not previously attended. Thus, IOR may affect regressions. This paper describes how to design materials to distinguish between regressions caused by comprehension-related and oculomotor processes; the latter is subject to IOR. The method allows researchers to identify IOR and control the causes of regressions. While the method requires tightly controlled materials and large numbers of participants and materials, it allows researchers to distinguish and control the types of regressions that occur in their reading studies.

The method was designed to investigate the role of inhibition of return (IOR) in regressive eye movements during reading. The focus is on differentiating between regressions triggered as a result of comprehension difficulty versus those triggered from oculomotor error, including the role of IOR in the two types of regressions.

Regressive eye movements are eye movements that move backwards through the text and comprise approximately 10-25% of eye movements during reading. As ...

Using the Visual World Paradigm to Study Sentence Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism

Sentence comprehension relies on the ability to rapidly integrate different types of linguistic and non-linguistic information. However, there is currently a paucity of research exploring how preschool children with autism understand sentences using different types of cues. The mechanisms underlying sentence comprehension remains largely unclear. The present study presents a protocol to examine the sentence comprehension abilities of preschool children with autism. More specifically, a visual world paradigm of eye-tracking is used to explore the moment-to-moment sentence comprehension in the children. The paradigm has multiple advantages. First, it is sensitive to the time course of sentence comprehension and thus can provide rich information about how sentence comprehension unfolds over time. Second, it requires minimal task and communication demands, so it is ideal for testing children with autism. To further minimize the computational burden of children, the present study measures eye movements that arise as automatic responses to linguistic input rather than measuring eye movements that accompany conscious responses to spoken instructions.

We present a protocol to examine the use of morphological cues during real-time sentence comprehension by children with autism.

Sentence comprehension relies on the ability to rapidly integrate different types of linguistic and non-linguistic information. However, there is ...

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

We discuss the use of the preferential looking paradigm in eye tracking studies in order to study how infants develop, understand, and attend to the world around them. Eye tracking is a safe and non-invasive way to collect gaze data from infants, and the preferential looking paradigm is simple to design and only requires the infant to be attending to the screen. By simultaneously showing two visual stimuli that differ in one dimension, we can assess whether infants show different looking behavior for either stimulus, thus demonstrating sensitivity to that difference. The challenges in such experimental approaches are that experiments must be kept brief (no more than 10 min) and be carefully controlled such that the two stimuli differ in only one way. The interpretation of null results must also be carefully considered. In this paper, we illustrate a successful example of an infant eye tracking study with a preferential looking paradigm to discover that 6-month-olds are sensitive to linguistic cues in a signed language despite having no prior exposure to signed language, suggesting that infants possess intrinsic or innate sensitivities to these cues.

Eye tracking studies using a preferential looking paradigm can be used to study infants&#39;&#160;emerging understanding of, and attention to, their external visual world.

We discuss the use of the preferential looking paradigm in eye tracking studies in order to study how infants develop, understand, and attend to the world ...

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing

Previous studies have found that older adults have greater difficulties in processing syntactically complex sentences than younger adults. However, the exact regions where the difficulties arise have not been fully identified. In this study, a maze task was implemented to investigate how older adults and younger adults differentially processed two types of sentences with different levels of syntactic complexity, namely subject relative clauses and object relative clauses. Participants were asked to choose between two alternatives at each segment of the sentences. The task required participants to engage in a strictly incremental mode of processing. The reading times for each segment were recorded, allowing the quantification of the difficulty of sentence reading. The task allowed us to identify the exact locations of the processing difficulty and thus facilitate a more accurate assessment of the age-related decline in sentence processing. The results indicate that the effect of ageing was found mainly at the head nouns, but not at other regions of the sentences, a finding which suggests that the maze task is an effective method to identify the exact location of the ageing effect on sentence processing. The implications of this experimental paradigm for investigating the effect of ageing on sentence processing are discussed.

Here, we present a protocol to examine the age-related decline in sentence processing using a maze task that allowed us to localize the processing difficulty at each word of the sentences during reading.

Previous studies have found that older adults have greater difficulties in processing syntactically complex sentences than younger adults. However, the ...