When reading from left to right, useful information acquired during each fixational pause is widely assumed to extend 14 to 15 characters to the right of fixation but just 3 to 4 characters to the left, and certainly no further than the beginning of the fixated word. However, this leftward extent is strikingly small and seems inconsistent with…

Among 40 reading disabled volunteers (ages 9-74), subjects with high scotopic sensitivity demonstrated significantly better performance on visual processing tasks when they used colored overlays which maximized visual efficiency, compared with task performance under conditions using overlays of a random color or no color. (JW)

Reports a series of studies that investigated the role of parafoveal vision in reading by using the Stroop phenomenon. Supports the "peripheral search guidance" process of Hochberg's model of reading, and provides evidence of processing variations across retinal location. (RL)

Two experiments examined the perceptual processing of letters embedded within one- and two-syllable words and visually similar nonwords. Results suggest that (1) the size of compelling perceptual units seems limited, and (2) unit size is not necessarily related to the correspondence between letter order and pronounceability. (Author/BW)

Discusses the effects on oculomotor behavior of variations of the physical attributes of text and similar effects from physical word cues processed in the reader's parafoveal vision. (HOD)

Presents computational and psychophysical evidence in support of a theory of one of the earliest stages of visual processing in reading--the isolation of words in text. (HOD)

Little research has been done to explain just why words are recognized more easily than letters alone; although, this phenomenon has been accepted widely by educators. Therefore, a model of the processes involved in word recognition and suggestions concerning how these processes can be put to use in reading instruction are presented. The model…

Examines and rejects two traditional assumptions about fluent reading: that identification of letters is necessary to identify words; and that identification of words is necessary to comprehend. Proposes that identification and comprehension are two separate tasks and that a reader comprehends because he reads for meaning in the first place. (MB)

The functions of spaces between words in adult reading of text were investigated in three experiments. Results were consistent with a two-process theory in which filling parafoveal spaces disrupts guidance of the next eye movement and filling foveal spaces disrupts processing of the fixated word as well. (Author/RD)

A discussion of the visual aspect of second-language reading processes proposes a theoretical model of reading and reports on research into the kinds of questions second-language students ask in class. The model of reading outlined is based on the operations of the human eye. Just as the operations of the lens (focus) change the picture at the…

This study presented 24 third graders drawn from suburban elementary schools with high frequency, low discriminability words in four conditions. Subjects were randomly assigned to the four tasks individually. It was hypothesized that poor and normal readers would differ in their ability to read high frequency, low discriminability words presented…

Reports study on speed of response to printed letters, syllables, words, and word sequences in 150 children from kindergarten through grade 11. Tasks included visual matching to a visual sample, visual matching to an auditory sample, oral reading, and visual scanning tasks. (Author/SB)

Orthographic context and visual letter information were independently varied in a letter recognition task. The results contradicted the qualitative predictions of nonindependence theories of reading and are accurately described by a quantification of independence theory. (Author/CP)

The study investigated the visual discrimination abilities of children who varied in their ability to recognize words. Measures of word recognition and intelligence were obtained in 87 first-, second-, and third-grade subjects. All subjects then performed a visual discrimination task which uses artificial graphemes as stimuli. The task required…

Special equipment was used to record the eye movement patterns of 60 children enrolled in a reading clinic. There were 20 children in each of three groups: good readers, slow readers, and non-readers. The children were shown printed material on a screen accompanied by action sequences and voice recordings similar to what they might see on…