| Title: |
Identifying Text-Based Factors That Contribute to the Superior Reading Efficiency of Skilled Deaf Readers: An Eye-Tracking Study of Length, Frequency, and Predictability |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Frances G. Cooley (ORCID 0000-0001-5074-177X); Karen Emmorey (ORCID 0000-0002-5647-0066); Emily Saunders (ORCID 0000-0003-3137-1552); Grace Sinclair (ORCID 0009-0002-6879-2107); Casey Stringer (ORCID 0000-0003-3566-968X); Elizabeth R. Schotter (ORCID 0000-0001-9345-1051) |
| Source: |
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2025 51(7):1178-1189. |
| Availability: |
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
12 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) |
| Contract Number: |
2120546; 2120507 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Deafness; Reading Comprehension; Eye Movements; Reading Strategies; Speed Reading; Reading Rate; Language Processing; Attention; Word Frequency; Prediction; Adults; American Sign Language; Achievement Tests; Spelling; Intelligence Tests |
| Geographic Terms: |
California (San Diego); Texas (Austin); District of Columbia; Florida (Tampa) |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: |
Peabody Individual Achievement Test; Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test |
| DOI: |
10.1037/xlm0001415 |
| ISSN: |
0278-7393; 1939-1285 |
| Abstract: |
Skilled deaf readers are more efficient than their hearing counterparts--they read faster, skipping more words without a negative impact on comprehension. It is not clear from where deaf readers' efficiency derives, because reading is a complex cognitive process that requires readers to extract meaning from text, incorporating visual, lexical, and contextual information. To assess the contributions of these factors to deaf readers' efficiency, we tracked their eye movements as they read sentences with target words that were manipulated for "length," "frequency," and "predictability," and we assessed the effects of those variables on "skipping probability" (i.e., whether the reader skipped or fixated the target) and "gaze duration" (i.e., the amount of time spent fixating the word before leaving it) and compared these patterns to hearing readers with equivalent reading comprehension skill. Deaf readers demonstrated increased skipping rates and shorter gaze durations overall compared to hearing readers and exhibited different patterns of word length and predictability effects, but similar frequency effects. Deaf readers' eye movements reflect "visual linguistic processing expertise" as they are primarily driven by word length when targeting words for fixation, but frequency and predictability effects on word skipping indicate that they do engage in parafoveal linguistic processing. These results emphasize the qualitative differences in reading strategies between deaf and hearing readers and advance our understanding of the impact of early language and sensory experiences on reading behaviors. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Notes: |
https://osf.io/7gxhr |
| Entry Date: |
2026 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1508691 |
| Database: |
ERIC |