Microdynamics of word by word reading

Reading of a text is treated as a process of continuous interaction between meanings of discreet words and meaningful images emerging on the basis of consecutively perceived meanings. Traditional techniques, such as registration of eye movements, answering questions about the text, cannot be applied to studying the nature and dynamics of the interaction. Therefore the authors have applied the technique of word by word reading which allows registering the time spent on reading each word as a function of its ordinal number in a textual sequence. As a result individual profiles of microdynamics of reading a small extract of a simple text of fiction have been obtained. The findings show that the nature of the microdynamics does not depend on the number of letters in a word. The objective indicators of sense formation taking place parallel to perception of individual words, are relatively long pauses represented by peak meanings of the time of reading a word.