The 35th Sir Frederick Bartlett Lecture: Eye movements and attention in reading, scene perception, and visual search
Abstract
Eye movements are now widely used to investigate cognitive processes during reading, scene perception, and visual search. In this article, research on the following topics is reviewed with respect to reading: (a) the perceptual span (or span of effective vision), (b) preview benefit, (c) eye movement control, and (d) models of eye movements. Related issues with respect to eye movements during scene perception and visual search are also reviewed. It is argued that research on eye movements during reading has been somewhat advanced over research on eye movements in scene perception and visual search and that some of the paradigms developed to study reading should be more widely adopted in the study of scene perception and visual search. Research dealing with “real-world” tasks and research utilizing the visual-world paradigm are also briefly discussed.
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In the context of code review, saccade length is a suitable proxy for the thoroughness of a reviewer's inspection.
“Consequently, in the context of code review, saccade length is a suitable proxy for the thoroughness of a reviewer's inspection.”
From Same Scrutiny, More Time: Eye Tracking Insights into Reviewing LLM-Labelled Code (2026) · cites this paper as [10]
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Same Scrutiny, More Time: Eye Tracking Insights into Reviewing LLM-Labelled Code
Khojah, R., Gomes de Oliveira Neto, F., Mohamad, M., Frattini, J., & Leitner, P. (2026) · Proceedings of the 41st IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering · doi:10.1145/3832783.3834423
- Authors
- Rayner, K.
- Affiliations
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rayner, Keith
- Venue
- Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-08
- Volume
- 62
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1457-1506
- ISSN
- 0033-555X (ISSN-L)
- 1747-0218
- 1747-0226
- OpenAlex
- W2011826874
- Cited by
- 2,682
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 218 · 2025: 242 · 2024: 171 · 2023: 177 · 2022: 186 · 2021: 198 · 2020: 211 · 2019: 186 · 2018: 183 · 2017: 149 · 2016: 156 · 2015: 134 · 2014: 148 · 2013: 125 · 2012: 92
- FWCI
- 106.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD26765)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Keywords
- eye movements, reading, scene perception, visual search, perceptual span, preview benefit, oculomotor control, visual world paradigm, attention
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Eye Movements, Fixation, Ocular, Humans, Models, Psychological, Neuropsychological Tests, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Reading, Visual Fields, Visual Perception
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