Individual differences in working memory during reading with and without parafoveal information: A moving-window study

NAOYUKI OSAKA and MARIKO OSAKA
Kyoto University and Osaka University of Foreign Studies

We examined individual differences in working memory appearing in the effective visual field size while reading Japanese text. Working memory capacity was measured by a Japanese reading span test, and the subjects were divided into high- and low-score groups. Reading performance was measured by reading time, comprehension, and eye movements using a variable moving window through which the subject could read areas of the Japanese text. As the window size decreased, the reading time increased significantly. High-span subjects showed better performance in reading time, comprehension, and fixation duration than low-span subjects even in small visual fields. Interestingly, highspan subjects appear to show better information integration during reading, whereas low-span subjects showed less integration without parafoveal vision. These findings suggest that reading performance was better for subjects with larger working memory resources in a parafoveal restriction condition.