Seminar: Using Computer Simulation to Understand Reading Speed and Speed Reading

Using Computer Simulation to Understand Reading Speed and Speed Reading

Professor Erik D. Reichle

Professor of Cognitive Psychology

Macquarie University, Australia

November 18, 2026 (Wednesday)

12:45 - 14:00

Room 401-402, Meng Wah Complex, HKU

Chair: Professor Carol To

Abstract:

Computer models of reading are useful for thinking about the mental processes that support reading, and for generating new predictions that guide research.  In this talk, I will describe how one of these models, the E-Z Reader model of eye-movement control in reading, has been used to examine a question of recent public interest: How fast can humans read?  A series of simulations using E-Z Reader are used to identify the factors that constrain natural reading speed (e.g., reading skill).  By doing this, the model: (1) provides an estimate of the maximum attainable reading speed and (2) tests the possible benefits of courses and apps that purportedly increase reading speed and comprehension.
 

About the speaker:

Erik D. Reichle received a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  He has held positions at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Southampton, and is currently a professor of cognitive psychology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.  His research uses computer modelling, eye tracking, and brain imaging to understand the mental processes that support skilled reading, and how those processes are influenced by languages and writing systems.  He has published more than 100 articles on these topics, has authored two books, and is currently editing The Cambridge Companion to the Psychology of Reading.

~ All are welcome ~