Ali Bhimani¹, A. Caglar Tas¹; ¹The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Previously, we have shown that using artificial fixation points (AFPs) to cue participants while reading can potentially help readers by increasing reading speed and improving reader comprehension (Bhimani & Tas, VSS 2024). Further, we have also demonstrated that the type of AFP used has a significant impact on measures of efficient reading (Bhimani, Parker, & Tas, VSS 2025). We created AFPs by altering the first half of either highly fixated words or words which were pseudo-randomly selected based on a theoretical framework. In our prior work, AFPs were implemented by altering the morphological characteristics of manipulated letters through the addition of boldness (space and contrast) or color (contrast and saliency). In the present study, we aimed to test the generalizability of AFPs through the manipulation of features outside of individual letter morphology by highlighting the first half of selected words. Our results showed that highlight AFPs were similarly effective. For difficult texts, reading comprehension and reading speed (words per minute) were both significantly better for texts that used highlighted AFPs compared to texts that did not include any AFPs (ps < .001). For medium-difficulty texts, AFPs only improved reading speed (ps < .001), without affecting reading comprehension. AFPs did not have an effect for easy texts on either measure, suggesting that AFPs are utilized when texts are challenging. These findings support the generalizability of AFPs: Improved reading speed and comprehension can be achieved by manipulating both lexical properties (i.e., saliency of letters), but also saliency of the surrounding space.