Parafoveal word perception: a further case against semantic preprocessing.

Abstract

Three experiments were performed to explore the processing of parafoveal information. A foveal and a parafoveal word pair were presented within the time frame of a single fixation, but short enough to prevent successful refixation of the parafoveal word. Subjects reporting partial parafoveal word information were not able to use this information to bias their choice in a forced-choice task requiring some semantic information from the parafoveal word for correct performance. This result was observed even though correct parafoveal word identification was facilitated if the foveal stimulus was related to the parafoveal word. Further, the data strongly suggest that information is obtained initially from the fixated words, regardless of whether foveal word presentation precedes or follows the parafoveal stimulus.