Orthographic familiarity of word N affects attentional disengagement from word N-1 in reading

Presentation

Abstract

The effect of the load of word N on attentional disengagement from word N-1 during reading was investigated using a dual task (adapted from Fischer, 1999; see Ghahghaei, Linnell, Fischer, Dubey, & Davis, in press). Participants were presented on each trial with a single sentence. Each sentence contained a critical word, word N, with its load manipulated at two levels of orthographic familiarity (high/low) and printed frequency (high/low). Participants (eighteen monolingual English-speakers with normal vision and reading ability) were asked to (i) read the sentence for comprehension, and (ii)