does sentence context help us read small print? · 120 2 120 4 120 5 120 6 120 7 120 9 120 10 120...
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Does sentence context help us read small print?Eliza Chong, Kelsey Hanrahan & Steve Mans!eld, Department of Psychology, SUNY College at Plattsburgh
RationaleIt is well established that sentence context helps us read faster. Reading speeds are 1.4 to 2.5 times faster for sentences than for shuf"ed sentences or unrelated words. However, it is unclear whether sentence context helps us read smaller print. Does context help us identify words that would otherwise be too small to read?
MethodsParticipants• 20 students enrolled in PSY101 General Psychology, with normal
or corrected-to-normal vision.Normal and shuf!ed sentences• Sentences were extracted from novels downloaded from Pro-
ject Gutenberg.• Each sentence had six words, and contained no extra punctua-
tion or repeated words (see Figure 1). • The initial capital letter in each sentence was changed to low-
ercase. • Shuf"ed sentences were created by randomizing word order.Print size• We tested at !ve very small print sizes: from -0.3 to +0.1 logMAR
(i.e., x-height subtending 0.042° to 0.105°.)• These sizes span the typical acuity limit of healthy college-
aged students with normal vision.• For comparison: 20/20 text subtends 0.083°; Newsprint, under
typical reading conditions, subtends 0.23°.Procedure• We measured reading accuracy as a function of print size.• The sentences were displayed using rapid serial visual presen-
tation — words were presented one at a time at the same loca-tion on the screen.
• We tested at rates of: 240, 120, and 60#words per minute.• Participants read the sentences aloud, and the experimenter
counted how many words were read accurately.
DemonstrationDoes sentence context allow reading at smaller print sizes?
Results
Discussion• At 240 wpm, normal sentences could be read at sizes 9%
smaller than shuf"ed sentences (p < 0.01).• Slower presentation rates allow reading at smaller print sizes.
Threshold print size at 60wpm is 30% smaller than at 240wpm. • Context provides no advantage when reading very small print
at slow speeds. • Perhaps the processing advantage due to context is offset by
the slow presentation rate. • Or, possibly, it is hard to establish context under these con-
ditions because the text is hard to read.
ReferencesKnoblauch, K. & Maloney, L. T. (2012), Modeling Psychophysical Data in R. New York: Springer.
AcknowledgementsSupported by a SUNY Plattsburgh Redcay award for student-faculty collaboration in the behavioral sciences.
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Normal sentences Shuf"ed sentences
Figure 1. We !nd that the normal sentences support reading at faster speeds, but not at smaller sizes
grieved is sadly mother our poor
all affection own her was his
our watches at both looked we
fact the girl the understand let
like late not you will staying
point gained main the was but
had promise her kept bravely she
him his this sister brought upon
gushed into tears eyes the her
of them the round rest crowded
never chair but do the would
golden not the there were waters
manfully I future the turned to
was darling it now her object
negative she the in was answered
hurt they on your account me
checked in she just time herself
London bring would soon cure its
creature a is quite little she
thinking had hours he for been
but they were very decently kept
we had some accidents with it
he made only one thing clear
we all went into the bedroom
we were all agreed upon that
she could not but be thankful
the little man smiled and nodded
this appears to be your affair
I would rather not be tempted
but the secret soon came out
and so the amiable couple parted
they both looked at each other
she would do anything for me
the conference was a long one
I remember he was in mourning
then she began to blame herself
we have got our first principle
and now my written story ends
she turned and left the house
I know the way out perfectly
PRINT SIZE (logMAR)
PR
OP
OR
TIO
N C
OR
RE
CT
0.00.20.40.60.81.0
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
160
260
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
460
560
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
660
760
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
960
1060
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
1260
1360
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
1460
1560
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
1660
1760
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
1860
1960
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
2160
2260
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
2460
2560
1120
2120
4120
5120
6120
7120
9120
10120
12120
13120
14120
15120
16120
17120
18120
19120
21120
22120
24120
0.00.20.40.60.81.0
25120
0.00.20.40.60.81.0
1240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
2240
4240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
5240
6240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
7240
9240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
10240
12240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
13240
14240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
15240
16240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
17240
18240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
19240
21240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
22240
24240
-0.3 -0.1 0.1
25240
Presentation rate = 240 wpm
Presentation rate = 120 wpm
Presentation rate = 60 wpm60 wpm
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1PRINT SIZE (logMAR)
PRO
PORT
ION
CORR
ECT
120 wpm
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1PRINT SIZE (logMAR)
PRO
PORT
ION
CORR
ECT
240 wpm
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1PRINT SIZE (logMAR)
PRO
PORT
ION
CORR
ECT
Normal sentencesShuf!ed sentences a) individual data b) pooled data
Figure 2. a) Reading-accuracy versus print-size curves from 20 participants. Each column shows data from one participant at three presentation rates (240 wpm top; 120 wpm, middle; and 60 wpm bottom). Gray: normal sentences. Red: shuf"ed sen-tences.
b) Pooled data. These curves show the !xed effects from a mixed-effect model used to !t cumulative-Gaussian curves to the accuracy-versus-size data [as outlined by Knoblauch and Maloney (2012).] The model has threshold, slope, and sentence con-text as !xed effects:; and threshold and participant as random effects.