The World is Too Much: Effects of Array Size on the Link between Language Comprehension and Eye Movements

The visual world paradigm (VWP) is a methodology in which eye movements (relative to a display) are used to infer underlying language processing. In experiment 1, to examine the effects of array size on eye movements, we chose to replicate and extend a robust VWP finding. Our results replicated the expected semantic effects for the 2x2 array: participants made more saccades during the noun to the target and competitor in the target-present display than to individual distractors. In the second experiment, we increased preview prior to utterance onset from 1 to 16 s for all three array sizes. Twelve participants took part in this experiment, which was otherwise identical to Experiment 1. In order to control for array size, we ran a variation of Experiment 2 with 12 participants, in which 1 s of preview time was given per object. This study suggests that the VWP may be affected by the properties of displays. Specifically, increases in array size and preview time serve to decouple the strong, immediate link between language processing and eye movements. This study, then, suggests that in order to properly interpret VWP studies, models of cognition are needed that fully describe the link between language processing and eye movements.