Reading Skill and Word Skipping: Implications for Visual and Linguistic Accounts of Word Skipping

We investigated whether high-skill readers skip more words than low-skill readers as a result of parafoveal processing differences based on reading skill, We manipulated foveal load and word length, two variables that strongly influence word skipping, and measured reading skill using the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. We 'found that reading skill did not influence the probability of skipping five-letter words, but low skill readers were less likely to skip three letter words when tot cal load was high. Thus, reading skill is likely to influence word skipping when the amount of information in the parafovea falls within the word identification span. We interpret the data in the context of visual-based (extended optimal viewing position model) and linguistic based (E-Z Reader model) accounts of word skipping. The models make different predictions about how and why a word and skipped; however, the data indicate that both models should take into account the fact that different factors influence skipping rates for high- and low-skill readers.