Day 89 of 150 Language Difficulty 5/10
Skilled readers preview the next word before they look at it
Quick answer
Skilled readers preview the next word before they look at it. Today's question (Parafoveal preview in reading) asks about a finding from Rayner, K. in 1998. The correct option is Information about it is partially extracted from parafoveal vision and contributes to faster reading (parafoveal preview benefit) — full explanation, primary source, and glossary cross-links below.
Today's question
While the eye fixates a word during reading, what happens to the next word?
Reveal the answer and explanation
Correct: B — Information about it is partially extracted from parafoveal vision and contributes to faster reading (parafoveal preview benefit)
Rayner (1975, 1998) used the gaze-contingent moving-window technique to mask text outside a defined zone around fixation. When parafoveal text was masked, reading slowed substantially even though the currently fixated word was untouched. With normal previews, readers extract orthographic and partial phonological information about word n+1 while fixating word n, producing a parafoveal preview benefit of roughly 30–50 ms per fixation. Saccade-control models such as E-Z Reader (Reichle et al. 1998) build this attentional gradient into the timing of when the next saccade is launched.
About the source
Rayner, K. (1998). Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 124(3), 372–422.
Every Cognition Bible question cites a primary source — a paper, book chapter, or monograph that exists, that we can point to on Google Scholar, and whose finding the question accurately summarizes. No fabricated authority strings, no name-drops without paper-level grounding.
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