Using eye-tracking to evaluate how individual difference affect the processing of lexically and syntactically ambiguous sentences

Despite decades of psycholinguistic research, we still do not understand how readers resolve and understand lexical and syntactic ambiguities. Current theories posit that either one (Rayner et al., 1983) or two (Duffy et al., 1988) processes are required to resolve the two types of ambiguity, and these theories also differ in other key assumptions (e.g., whether readers maintain one or multiple meanings at a time). In addition, many of the seminal experiments on ambiguity resolution used methods that fall short of today's standard (e.g., small samples, outdated statistical tests, unnatural presentation formats). Our eye-tracking experiment will redress these limitations by replicating the sentence reading experiments of both Rayner et al. and Duffy et al. using modern methods (e.g., a larger sample of ~120 participants). We will also investigate the influence of individual differences in ambiguity processing by replicating MacDonald et al.'s (1992) observation that working memory capacity is related to ambiguity resolution and by examining the possible role of reading ability in ambiguity resolution. Using this approach, we will attempt to determine whether single- or dual-process theories provide a better account of ambiguity resolution. Our findings will also provide a corpus for evaluating computer models of reading (see Reichle, 2021) and for guiding future neuroimaging studies (e.g., to understand the involvement of specific cortical regions in ambiguity resolution).