Diagrams organize by location. They give spatial cues for finding and recognizing information and for making inferences. In education, diagrams are often used to help students understand and recall information. This study assessed the influence of perceptual cues on reading behavior and subsequent retention. Eighty-two participants were assigned…

Reports on a study in which a display system controlled by eye movements of the reader was used to identify the area in a text from which information is collected during silent reading. Results indicated a perceptual span of 25 to 31 character positions for adult subjects. (MKM)

Three problems in the use of eye movement data for the study of language processing are discussed in this report: the perceptual span problem, the data summary problem, and the eye-mind lag problem. Recent research on perception during reading that bears on these problems is also described. Finally, a general approach to the use of eye movement…

Fifteen college students read passages from a cathode-ray tube as their eye movements were monitored in a study that investigated the size of the visual region within which they used visual information to distinguish among letters as they read. (HOD)