| Research Abstract |
In this study, we clarified, using psycho-physical experiments and NIRS measurements, the difference in cognitive mechanism between speed readers and non-speed readers. Specifically, we made the following two series of experiments.
First, by focusing on their characteristics of visual attention, we clarified, using eye-tracker measurements and visual search experiments, the difference in visual-perceptual mechanism between speed readers and non-speed readers. These measurements and experiments revealed that the performance of speed readers was superior to that of non-speed readers both in single feature tasks and in a conjunction search task. In addition, we experimentally analyzed the difference between them in the characteristics of visual attention, especially the controllability of size of attentional spotlight -the area to which they could distribute attention. Specifically, using the method of Sperling (2004), we showed the area to which speed readers or non-speed readers should d
… More
istribute attention. On the same screen, we then carried out a series of visual search tasks, in which the stimuli were sine-wave gratings and whose target differed in its spatial frequency from the other distracters. We determined the contrast sensitivity from the reaction times in the tasks. As a result, it was found that, when the size of the area was changed, speed readers could distribute attention to the area more appropriately than non-speed readers. From these results, we could say that the ability of visual attention in speed readers was enhanced by training.
Second, we clarified, using NIRS measurements, the difference in cognitive-brain mechanism between speed readers and non-speed readers. As a result, we found that Wernicke's area was not activated when speed readers carried out speed reading while the both Wernicke's and auditory areas were activated when non-speed readers carried out normal reading. It is pointed out that there are two processing routes for Japanese characters; one is for Kana and the other for Kanji characters. It is also said that Kanji processing is faster than Kana processing. We then made NIRS measurements by making both speed readers and non-speed readers read, sentences which consisted of only Kana or Kanji characters. The result showed a high possibility that speed readers carried out speed reading only through the processing route for Kanji characters.
From all the results, i.e. speed readers' enhancement of visual attention and fast processing using the processing route for Kanji characters, it was estimated that speed readers could read about 20 or 30 times faster than non-speed readers. This figure corresponds to the observed value in actual speed reading by speed readers. We thus can say that we could defy the common view that speed reading is only a kind of skimming, not reading. Less
|
