The conception of comprehension in two eye movement tracking models: Just and Carpenter (1980) and Rayner and Pollatsek (1989)

Abstract

Previous research on language comprehension has generally focused on the eye tracking method, as it allows us to account for reading processes and lexical access in real time. This method aims to observe the comprehension processes of the entire text contents. The contribution of these studies is undeniable, though visual processing of words is not a guarantee of its comprehension. For this reason, in this work I compare how comprehension is conceived in two models used in eye-tracking studies on language processing during reading: Just and Carpenter’s model (1980) and Rayner and Pollatsek’s model (1989), as they offer an interesting insight on text comprehension. This article mainly focuses on similarities and differences between both models and the extent to which the term processing could be used alternatively to refer to comprehension.