Eye movement control in reading: a comparison of two types of models

Abstract

Two classes of models have been proposed to account for eye movement control during reading. Proponents of the 1st class of model claim that the decision of when to move the eyes (reflected in fixation duration) is primarily influenced by the status of on-line language processing such as lexical access. Supporters of the 2nd class of model, however, maintain that (a) lower level oculomotor factors such as fixation location govern the decision of when to move the eyes and (b) lexical variables exert only a weak influence. In this study, fixation duration on low-and high-frequency target words was examined as a function of fixation location and the number of fixations on a target word. The data are inconsistent with an oculomotor model.