Conceptual processing of text during skimming and rapid sequential reading

Masson, Michael E. J.

doi:10.3758/bf03196973

Cited by 99 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These differences in findings may be accounted for by the fact that in Masson's [1983] study there was no blank window between sentences, whereas in Juola et al's [1982] there was. In Masson's study the beginnings and endings of sentences were only indicated by uppercase letters and periods, respectively.…”

Section: Rapid Serial Visual Presentationcontrasting

confidence: 42%

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Reading text from computer screens

1987

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This paper reviews empirical studies concerning the readability of text from computer screens. The review focuses on the form and physical attributes of complex, realistic displays of text material. Most studies comparing paper and computer screen readability show that screens are less readable than paper. There are many factors that could affect the readability of computer screens. The factors explored in this review are the features of characters, the formatting of the screen, the contrast and color of the characters and background, and dynamic aspects of the screen. Numerous areas for future research are pinpointed. INTRODUCTIONThe increase in the number of computer screens and computer screen users in the industrial world is staggering and promises to be even greater in the future. On the basis of figures from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, approximately 10 million American workers currently use computer screens daily to perform their jobs. By 1990 it is expected that this number will be 20 million, and by the year 2000, 40 million workers will use computer screens [Mansfield 19851. The computer screen is used extensively as an input/output device for computer systems, and it can be used to display many different types of information, such as graphic and pictorial. One of the primary uses for the computer screen, however, is the display of text.The readability of text from computer screens is an issue that has increased in importance with the increasing frequency Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. and range of computer screen use. One use is word processing, which requires reading large amounts of text from computer screens. Other applications include the electronic publishing of books and journals [Lancaster and Warner 1985;Moray 1980;Senders 1977;Weyer 1982; Wright and Lickorish 19841 and videotext [Bown et al. 1980;Malloy 1983; Reynolds 19821. Computerized information retrieval occurs in library searches, electronic mail, and retrieval of information from on-line technical manuals. In all of these applications, a large number of characteristics of text on computer screens could potentially affect how easily people can extract information from screens (cf. Shneiderman [1980]). The purpose of this paper is to review empirical studies concerning factors affecting the readability of text on computer screens.The literature on the use of computer screens has increased dramatically in the last few years. Books by Cakir et al. [1980] and Grandjean and Vigliani [1980] have provided coverage of some of the basic issues and research findings involving computer screen use. Additional research on factors influencing re...

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Section: Rapid Serial Visual Presentationcontrasting

confidence: 42%

“…In another study Masson [1983] determined the effect that the duration of the blank window had on reading RSVP text. In this study 32 subjects read RSVP text both with and without a blank window between sentences.…”

Section: Rapid Serial Visual Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading text from computer screens

1987

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“…Comparisons of this task to normal reading have typically revealed that with short sentences, results that are typical of normal reading can be obtained. However, when longer passages are presented, the processing system quickly gets overloaded, and comprehension breaks down (see Masson, 1983). With self-paced reading, text is presented a word or two at a time and readers advance the text by pushing a button.…”

Section: Using Eye Movements To Study Language Processing In Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research.

Rayner

1998

Psychological Bulletin

6,144

231

5,590

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Recent studies of eye movements in reading and other information processing tasks, such as music reading, typing, visual search, and scene perception, are reviewed. The major emphasis of the review is on reading as a specific example of cognitive processing. Basic topics discussed with respect to reading are (a) the characteristics of eye movements, (b) the perceptual span, (c) integration of information across saccades, (d) eye movement control, and (e) individual differences (including dyslexia). Similar topics are discussed with respect to the other tasks examined. The basic theme of the review is that eye movement data reflect moment-to-moment cognitive processes in the various tasks examined. Theoretical and practical considerations concerning the use of eye movement data are also discussed.Many studies using eye movements to investigate cognitive processes have appeared over the past 20 years. In an earlier review, I (Rayner, 1978b) argued that since the mid-1970s we have been in a third era of eye movement research and that the success of research in the current era would depend on the ingenuity of researchers in designing interesting and informative studies. It would appear from the vast number of studies using eye movement data over the past 20 years that research in this third era is fulfilling the promise inherent in using eye movement behavior to infer cognitive processes. The first era of eye movement research extended from Javal's initial observations concerning the role of eye movements in reading in 1879 (see Huey, 1908) up until about 1920. During this era, many basic facts about eye movements were discovered. Issues such as saccadic suppression (the fact that we do not perceive information during an eye movement), saccade latency (the time that it takes to initiate an eye movement), and the size of the perceptual span (the region of effective vision) were of concern in this era. The second era, which coincided with the behaviorist movement in experimental psychology, tended to have a more applied focus, and little research was undertaken with eye movements to infer cognitive processes. Although classic work by Tinker (1946) on reading and by Buswell (1935) on scene perception was carried out during this era, in retrospect, most of the work seems to have focused on the eye movements per se (or on surface aspects of the task being investigated). Tinker's (1958) final review ended on the rather pessimistic note that almost every-

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“…To find information efficiently, attention must be focused strictly on the area of text where the information is likely to be located (Guthrie, 1988). When skimming, one easily can miss relevant information that could be picked up by a careful reading (Masson, 1983). This failure to locate relevant information may be due to insufficient attention to, and encoding of, each word.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To test this model, they have identified search sequences used by adults when examining documents ranging from airplane schedules (Guthrie, 1988) to textbook chapters (Dreher & Guthrie, 1987. Prior to Dreher and Guthrie (1987), the majority of studies that investigated skimming used documents of only a few paragraphs in length (e.g., Kobasigawa et al, 1988;Masson, 1983). Dreher and Guthrie (1987) adapted the Guthrie and Mosenthal (1987) model to the task of locating information in textbooks.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Locating Discrete Information in Text: Effects of Computer Presentation and Menu Formatting

McGoldrick

Bergering

Martin

et al. 1992

Journal of Reading Behavior

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Locating information is a major component of student and adult reading. Dreher and Guthrie (1987) examined locating information in a text chapter presented via a microcomputer. The present experiment attempted to determine if there were differences in locating discrete information in printed versus computerized text. Possible differences may have been caused by method of presentation (computer vs. printed page) or the presence or absence of a menu at the front of the text. This menu presented areas of the text that could be searched (e.g., table of contents, text, glossary, and index). Eighty undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course attempted to find answers to six factual questions in text presented via either medium. Computer search tended to be more time consuming and less efficient than printed text search. No differences were found between computer and text conditions in total number of correct answers located. Computer groups searched the glossary more often than printed text groups. Possible explanations for these results are discussed and implications for future research are drawn.Researchers of reading recently have become interested in how individuals search for information in written material

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Conceptual processing of text during skimming and rapid sequential reading

Cited by 99 publications

References 29 publications

Reading text from computer screens

Reading text from computer screens

Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research.

Locating Discrete Information in Text: Effects of Computer Presentation and Menu Formatting

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