Keeping an Eye on Effort: A Pupillometric Investigation of Effort and Effortlessness in Visual Word Recognition

Shechter, Adi; Share, David L.

doi:10.1177/0956797620958638

Cited by 22 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…Today, since the inclusion of fluency in the landmark National Reading Panel report (NICHD, 2000), reading rate/speed/fluency is firmly ensconced on the mainstream reading research agenda, but the science of reading and reading disability/dyslexia still remains a casualty of a century‐long Anglophone preoccupation with accuracy in multiple ways. First, despite important contributions (e.g., Kim, 2020; Kuhn, Schwanenflugel, & Meisinger, 2010; Logan, 1997; Wolf & Katzir‐Cohen, 2001), the definition and operationalization of reading fluency, automaticity, and effort has yet to reach consensus (see, e.g., Moors & De Houwer, 2006; Samuels, 2006; Share, 2008; Shechter & Share, 2021; Stanovich, 1990).…”

Section: Anglocentrism In the Science Of Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the Science of Reading Just the Science of Reading English?

Share¹

2021

Reading Research Quarterly

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The science of reading has made genuine progress in understanding reading and the teaching of reading, but is the science of reading just the science of reading English? Worldwide, a majority of students learn to read and write in non-European, nonalphabetic orthographies such as abjads (e.g., Arabic), abugidas/alphasyllabaries (e.g., Hindi), or morphosyllabaries (e.g., Chinese). Over a decade ago, I argued that the extreme inconsistency of English spelling-sound correspondence had confined the science of reading to an insular, Anglocentric research agenda addressing theoretical and applied issues with limited relevance for a universal science of reading. Here, I ask if the science of reading has moved forward. Acknowledging some limited progress over the past decade, it is evident that even today, mainstream reading research remains entrenched in Anglocentrism, Eurocentrism, and another form of ethnocentrism that I call alphabetism. Even the two dominant theoretical frameworks for describing cross-script diversity, orthographic depth and psycholinguistic grain size theory, give little or no consideration to non-European alphabets or nonalphabetic scripts, promoting a one-dimensional view of script variation (i.e., spelling-sound consistency). Consideration of the full spectrum of the world's languages and writing systems reveals multiple dimensions of writing system complexity, each liable to create obstacles for the developing reader. If the science of reading is to contribute meaningfully to assessment, diagnosis, instruction, and intervention for all readers around the world, then we must extricate our field from entrenched ethnocentrism and embrace global diversity.

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Section: Anglocentrism In the Science Of Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the Science of Reading Just the Science of Reading English?

Share¹

2021

Reading Research Quarterly

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“…Autonomic arousal, estimated by pupil size, is also related to motivation and engagement (Zekveld et al, 2014; Peysakhovich et al, 2015; van der Wel and van Steenbergen, 2018; Shechter and Share, 2020). Therefore, we were also interested in examining if potential changes to autonomic arousal, due to 5-HTP, influenced performance.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The observed effects are likely mediated by serotonin’s effects on parasympathetic and autonomic arousal, as indexed by pupil size. Mental strain and focus increase the size of the pupil (Zekveld et al, 2014; Peysakhovich et al, 2015; van der Wel and van Steenbergen, 2018; Shechter and Share, 2020), while sleepiness and fatigue decreases pupil size (Hopstaken et al, 2015). Our lab has established that 5-HTP dose-dependently constricts the size of the pupil (Weinberg-Wolf et al, 2018), an effect we have replicated in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing central serotonin with 5-HTP disrupts the inhibition of social gaze in non-human primates

Weinberg-Wolf

Fagan

Monte

et al. 2021

Preprint

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To competently navigate the world, individuals must flexibly balance distinct aspects of social gaze, orienting toward others and inhibiting orienting responses, depending on the context. These behaviors are often disrupted in patient populations treated with serotonergic drugs. However, the field lacks a clear understanding of how the serotonergic system mediates social orienting and inhibiting behaviors. Here, we tested how increasing central concentrations of serotonin with the direct precursor 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) would modulate the ability of rhesus macaques to use eye movements to flexibly orient to, or inhibit orienting to, faces. Systemic administrations of 5-HTP effectively increased central serotonin levels and impaired flexible orientation and inhibition. Critically, 5-HTP selectively impaired the ability of monkeys to inhibit orienting to face images, whereas it similarly impaired orienting to face and control images. 5-HTP also caused monkeys to perseverate on their gaze responses, making them worse at flexibly switching between orientating and inhibiting behaviors. Furthermore, the effects of 5-HTP on performance correlated with a constriction of the pupil, an increased time to initiate trials, and an increased reaction time, suggesting that the disruptive effects of 5-HTP on social gaze behaviors are likely driven by a downregulation of arousal and motivational states. Taken together, these findings provide causal evidence for a modulatory relationship between 5-HTP and social gaze behaviors in non-human primates and offer translational insights for the role of the serotonergic system in social gaze.

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“…The decision to use nonwords as stimuli turned out to be prescient (e.g., see Reynolds & Besner, 2006;Shechter & Share, 2021).…”

Section: What Role Does Intention Play In Explicit Wordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual word recognition: Attention, intention, context, and processing dynamics.

Besner¹

2022

Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue canadienne

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The notion that some mental processes are "automatic" while others are "controlled" is a distinction that appears in virtually all cognition textbooks, as well as in thousands of papers and book chapters. Indeed, so entrenched is the automatic side of this distinction that various leading computational accounts make no mention of it, but instead assume it implicitly. These models, and the field more generally, assume that processing is stimulus triggered and does not need any form of attention or an intention as a preliminary. Further, the fundamental processing dynamics underlying such automatic processing is widely seen as consisting of interactive activation and autonomous in that it unfolds in the same way across contexts. I review a number of findings from my lab that lead me to a different conclusion. Visual word recognition requires a consideration and integrated understanding of automaticity, attention, intention, context, and cognitive processing. I present various findings that challenge the preeminent role ascribed to interactive activation as implemented in the dominant computational models. I conclude that, going forward, the time is due for computational models of visual word recognition (and researchers in the field more generally) to acknowledge that the findings reported here constitute benchmarks that constrain theory and present opportunities for making meaningful advances in our understanding of visual word recognition (and perhaps of cognition more generally). A few proposals for how we might think about some of these processes are offered. Public Significance StatementI provide a review of 4 decades of work on visual word recognition as seen from the perspective of my lab. In particular, I consider the interrelations between several computational models, attention, intention, context, and the underlying processing dynamics.

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Keeping an Eye on Effort: A Pupillometric Investigation of Effort and Effortlessness in Visual Word Recognition

Cited by 22 publications

References 38 publications

Is the Science of Reading Just the Science of Reading English?

Is the Science of Reading Just the Science of Reading English?

Increasing central serotonin with 5-HTP disrupts the inhibition of social gaze in non-human primates

Visual word recognition: Attention, intention, context, and processing dynamics.

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