The Eye: A Window to Event Cognition
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Education - Special Education, Psychology, Criminal Justice, English, Sociology
Mentor Information
Benjamin Swets
Department
Psychology
Location
Henry Hall Atrium 19
Start Date
11-4-2012 9:00 AM
Keywords
Social Science
Abstract
Past research suggests readers segment information presented in narrative texts into discrete events, with distinct boundaries between those events. However, methods used to demonstrate this segmentation have so far been limited to offline measures. The present study examines whether segmentation may be demonstrated with a measure that uses online cognitive processing: eye movements. Participants read narrative passages as their eye movements were monitored. Based on prior research, clauses were coded as event boundaries (i.e., the start of a new event) or event middles. We found that participants fixated longer on boundary clauses. Remarkably, these effects appeared within the first three fixations on the boundary clause. Participants also re-read boundary clauses more often than event middles. Our online measures, which reflect both immediate and prolonged effects of boundaries on eye movements, help clarify prior theories of event segmentation while comprehending narratives.
The Eye: A Window to Event Cognition
Henry Hall Atrium 19
Past research suggests readers segment information presented in narrative texts into discrete events, with distinct boundaries between those events. However, methods used to demonstrate this segmentation have so far been limited to offline measures. The present study examines whether segmentation may be demonstrated with a measure that uses online cognitive processing: eye movements. Participants read narrative passages as their eye movements were monitored. Based on prior research, clauses were coded as event boundaries (i.e., the start of a new event) or event middles. We found that participants fixated longer on boundary clauses. Remarkably, these effects appeared within the first three fixations on the boundary clause. Participants also re-read boundary clauses more often than event middles. Our online measures, which reflect both immediate and prolonged effects of boundaries on eye movements, help clarify prior theories of event segmentation while comprehending narratives.