Eye-Movement Control During the Reading of Chinese: An Analysis Using the Landolt-C Paradigm

Participants in an eye-movement experiment performed a modified version of the Landolt-C paradigm (Williams & Pollatsek, 2007) in which they searched for target squares embedded in linear arrays of spatially contiguous words (i.e., short sequences of squares having missing segments of variable size and orientation). Although the distributions of single- and first-of-multiple fixation locations replicated previous patterns suggesting saccade targeting (e.g., Yan, Kliegl, Richter, Nuthmann, & Shu, 2010), the distribution of all forward fixation locations was uniform, suggesting the absence of specific saccade targets. Furthermore, properties of the words (e.g., gap size) also influenced fixation durations and forward saccade length, suggesting that on-going processing affects decisions about when and where (i.e., how far) to move the eyes. The theoretical implications of these results for existing and future accounts of eye-movement control are discussed.

An Evolutionary Algorithm for Error-Driven Learning via Reinforcement

Although different learning systems are coordinated to afford complex behavior, little is known about how this occurs. This article describes a theoretical framework that specifies how complex behaviors that might be thought to require error-driven learning might instead be acquired through simple reinforcement. This framework includes specific assumptions about the mechanisms that contribute to the evolution of (artificial) neural networks to generate topologies that allow the networks to learn large-scale complex problems using only information about the quality of their performance. The practical and theoretical implications of the framework are discussed, as are possible biological analogs of the approach.

Where are your eyes going to look during reading? A critical evaluation of saccade targeting hypothesis

The word-based account of saccades drawn by a central gravity of the PVL is supported by two pillars of evidences. The first is the finding of the initial fixation location on a word resembled a normal distribution (Rayner, 1979). The other is the finding of a moderate slope coefficient between the launch site and the landing site (b=0.49, see McConkie, Kerr, Reddix, & Zola, 1988). Four simulations on different saccade targeting strategies and one eye-movement experiment of Chinese reading have been conducted to evaluate the two findings. We demonstrated that the current understanding of the word-based account is not conclusive by showing an alternative strategy of the word-based account and identifying the problem with the calculation of the slope coefficient. Although almost all the computational models of eye-movement control during reading have built on the two findings, future efforts should be directed to understand the precise contribution of different saccade targeting strategies, and to know how their weighting might vary across desperate writing systems.