The new study used a moving-window method to limit what readers could see outside their current fixation and measured how that restriction affected reading flow. Removing all peripheral panels caused the largest slowdown, and reducing peripheral detail produced measurable effects as well. Those results suggest readers are routinely drawing on information from at least two panels ahead to anticipate action, emotion, and plot developments.
If readers use that forward-looking window when processing sequential images, comic design and accessibility practices can be shaped around those expectations. This work opens up questions about how panel layout, pacing, and visual cues support comprehension for different readers, including learners and people with visual or attentional differences. Follow the link to see how these findings connect to models of comic reading and what they imply for supporting inclusive storytelling.
Abstract
Recent models of sequential narratives suggest that readers form predictions about upcoming panels as they read. However, previous work has considered these predictions only in terms of currently viewed information. In the current studies, we investigate to what extent readers are using information from un-fixated panels in comic stories. Using the moving-window paradigm, we studied whether reading behavior was disrupted when upcoming panels were unavailable to the reader, in short comic strips (Experiment 1) and multipage comics (Experiment 2). Both studies showed the greatest disruption to reading when all peripheral information was removed, but such changes persisted when only partial peripheral information was available. The results indicate that readers are making use of information from at least two panels ahead of the current fixation location. We consider these findings in relation to the PINS model of comic reading, and how the role of peripheral information might be further explored.
