Cookietalk

Testing linguistic theory with visual world eye-tracking evidence

In this cookie talk, I introduce visual world eye tracking, a research method for investigating language processing by recording and analyzing eye movements. This method allows researchers to link eye movements to cognitive processes, such as attention to specific pieces of information (Rayner 1998; Henderson 2011), making it especially useful in psycholinguistics. In visual world experiments, participants view images or videos while listening to carefully designed auditory stimuli, enabling the testing of hypotheses derived from linguistic theory.

Using an experiment from the project “Modelling the question-statement opposition in Slavic languages” as an example, I will walk you through the main stages of a visual world eye tracking experiment, from designing stimuli to gathering and analyzing data. I will also discuss the type of insights this method provides, as well as the challenges it poses for researchers.