Figure 1
Examples of the Four Versions of the Picture Stimuli.
Note. The panels correspond to the sentence pair ‘The child scurried/toddled to the tree’, standing for the four image versions: A) Single scene, left Goal, B) Single scene, right Goal, C) Double scene, left Goal, D) Double scene, right Goal.
Table 1
Fixation Coverage of Each Interest Area (IA) across Conditions (Verb Speed × Scene) in Experiment 1.
| SCENE | VERB SPEED | AGENT | PATH | GOAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | Fast | 315 (98.4%) | 132 (41.2%) | 307 (95.9%) |
| Single | Slow | 316 (98.8%) | 115 (35.9%) | 306 (95.6%) |
| Double | Fast | 312 (97.5%) | 43 (13.4%) | 286 (89.4%) |
| Double | Slow | 314 (98.1%) | 45 (14.1%) | 296 (92.5%) |
[i] Note. The table shows the number and proportion of trials in which the IA was fixated, averaged across participants. Each condition included 320 trials (40 participants × 8 items per condition).
Figure 2
Average Total Dwell Times in Experiment 1.
Note. Violin plots show the distribution of the total dwell times on the IAs in single scenes (upper panel) and double scenes (lower panel) calculated across the whole trial starting from sentence onset. Red dots stand for the mean and horizontal lines for the median.
Table 2
Significance Tests for LMER Models in Experiment 1 (Wide Time Window).
| EFFECT | AGENT MODEL | PATH MODEL | GOAL MODEL | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| df | χ² | p | df | χ² | p | df | χ² | p | |
| Verb Speed | 1 | 0.69 | .408 | 1 | 0.32 | .569 | 1 | 1.12 | .290 |
| Scene | 1 | 0.04 | .835 | 1 | 27.12 | <.001 | 1 | 80.61 | <.001 |
| Verb Frequency | 1 | 6.46 | .011 | 1 | 4.55 | .033 | 1 | 0.51 | .475 |
| Verb Duration | 1 | 1.83 | .176 | 1 | 2.44 | .119 | 1 | 1.52 | .218 |
| Verb Speed × Scene | 1 | 0.70 | .404 | 1 | 2.45 | .118 | 1 | 0.63 | .427 |
Figure 3
Grand Averages of the Proportions of Looks to the IAs across the Trial Time Starting from Sentence Onset in Experiment 1.
Note. The mean verb onset was 505 ms (SD = 64, range 395–655 ms) and Goal phrase onset was 1091 ms (SD = 82 ms, range 875–1294 ms). Shaded areas indicate 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 4
Density Plot of the Goal–Agent Fixation Difference in Experiment 1.
Table 3
Summary of GAMM Results Predicting Goal–Agent fixation difference of Experiment 1.
| A. PARAMETRIC COEFFICIENTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREDICTOR | ESTIMATE | SE | t | p |
| (Intercept) | –0.229 | 0.297 | –0.771 | .441 |
| Condition (Fast Double) | –1.351 | 0.287 | –4.712 | <.001*** |
| Condition (Slow Double) | –1.345 | 0.394 | –3.412 | <.001*** |
| Condition (Slow Single) | –0.336 | 0.394 | –0.853 | .394 |
| B. SMOOTH TERMS | ||||
| SMOOTH TERM | Edf | Ref. df | F | p |
| s(Time): Condition (Fast Single) | 6.669 | 7.587 | 8.419 | <.001*** |
| s(Time): Condition (Fast Double) | 7.156 | 8.000 | 5.282 | <.001*** |
| s(Time): Condition (Slow Double) | 7.063 | 7.939 | 4.961 | <.001*** |
| s(Time): Condition (Slow Single) | 6.358 | 7.313 | 6.652 | <.001*** |
| s(Time, Subject) (random effect) | 247.905 | 368.000 | 2.295 | <.001*** |
| s(Time, Item) (random effect) | 160.550 | 284.000 | 1.352 | <.001*** |
| s(Verb Frequency) | 1.021 | 1.028 | 3.163 | .077 |
| s(Verb Duration) | 1.001 | 1.001 | 0.882 | .348 |
[i] Note. Model fit: Adjusted R² = .131; Deviance explained = 13.5%; fREML = 223,790; Scale estimate = 41.657; n = 99,502. Edf = estimated degrees of freedom. Ref. df = reference degrees of freedom. Significance codes: *** p < .001; ** p < .01; * p < .05.
Figure 5
GAMM-estimated Smooths and Condition Differences in Experiment 1.
Note: The smooths for the effect of Condition on Goal–Agent fixation difference (difference between the empirical logits of Goal and Agent) are on the left panel. GAMM-derived difference curves for the effect of Verb Speed on Goal–Agent fixation difference are shown for single scenes (middle panel) and double scenes (right panel). The x-axis is time in milliseconds, with 0 ms marking the onset of the audio.
Table 4
Fixation Coverage of Each IA across Conditions (Verb Speed × Scene) in Experiment 2.
| SCENE | VERB SPEED | AGENT | PATH | GOAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | Fast | 315 (98.4%) | 203 (63.4%) | 318 (99.4%) |
| Single | Slow | 317 (99.1%) | 210 (65.6%) | 315 (98.4%) |
| Double | Fast | 316 (98.8%) | 60 (18.8%) | 305 (95.3%) |
| Double | Slow | 319 (99.7%) | 75 (23.4%) | 306 (95.6%) |
[i] Note. The table shows the number and proportion of trials in which the IA was fixated, averaged across participants. Each condition included 320 trials (40 participants × 8 items per condition).
Figure 6
Average Total Dwell Times in Experiment 2.
Note. Violin plots show the distribution of the total dwell times on the IAs in single scenes (upper panel) and double scenes (lower panel) calculated across the whole trial starting from sentence onset. Red dots stand for the mean and horizontal lines for the median.
Table 5
Significance Tests for LMER Models in Experiment 2 (Wide Time Window).
| AGENT MODEL | PATH MODEL | GOAL MODEL | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFFECT | df | χ² | p | df | χ² | p | df | χ² | p |
| Verb Speed | 1 | 2.83 | .092 | 1 | 0.89 | .346 | 1 | 2.73 | .099 |
| Scene | 1 | 3.18 | .075 | 1 | 38.18 | <.001 | 1 | 21.30 | <.001 |
| Verb Frequency | 1 | 4.45 | .035 | 1 | 0.39 | .531 | 1 | 0.53 | .465 |
| Verb Duration | 1 | 0.37 | .540 | 1 | 0.47 | .491 | 1 | 0.51 | .474 |
| Verb Speed × Scene | 1 | 2.40 | .121 | 1 | 0.51 | .473 | 1 | 10.03 | .002 |
Figure 7
Estimated Marginal Means (EMMs) of the Total Dwell Time on Goal by Verb Speed and Scene.
Note. EMMs are based on the linear mixed-effects model. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 8
Grand Averages of the Proportions of Looks to the IAs across the Trial Time Starting from Sentence Onset in Experiment 2.
Note. The mean verb onset was 552 ms (SD = 78, range 399–690 ms), Path phrase onset was 1306 ms (SD = 135 ms, range 1015–1564 ms), and Goal phrase onset was 2406 ms (SD = 152 ms, range 2159–2735 ms). Shaded areas indicate 95% confidence intervals.
Figure 9
Density Plot of the Variable Goal–Agent Fixation Difference in Experiment 2.
Table 6
Summary of GAMM Results Predicting Goal–Agent Fixation Difference in Experiment 2.
| A. PARAMETRIC COEFFICIENTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREDICTOR | ESTIMATE | SE | t | p |
| (Intercept) | –0.724 | 0.250 | –2.892 | .004** |
| Condition (Fast Double) | –0.929 | 0.266 | –3.488 | <.001*** |
| Condition (Slow Double) | –1.050 | 0.347 | –3.022 | .003** |
| Condition (Slow Single) | 0.503 | 0.347 | 1.448 | .148 |
| B. SMOOTH TERMS | ||||
| SMOOTH TERM | Edf | Ref. df | F | p |
| s(Time): Condition (Fast Single) | 4.115 | 5.019 | 7.383 | <.001*** |
| s(Time): Condition (Fast Double) | 7.979 | 8.658 | 9.020 | <.001*** |
| s(Time): Condition (Slow Double) | 6.437 | 7.506 | 4.426 | <.001*** |
| s(Time): Condition (Slow Single) | 7.233 | 8.164 | 10.438 | <.001*** |
| s(Time, Subject) (random effect) | 189.889 | 359.000 | 1.320 | <.001*** |
| s(Time, Item) (random effect) | 119.171 | 284.000 | 0.801 | <.001*** |
| s(Verb Frequency) | 1.533 | 1.681 | 3.183 | .121 |
| s(Verb Duration) | 1.596 | 1.754 | 0.488 | .619 |
[i] Note. Model fit: Adjusted R² = .110; Deviance explained = 11.2%; fREML = 302,250; Scale estimate = 42.842; n = 136,588. Edf = estimated degrees of freedom. Ref. df = reference degrees of freedom. Significance codes: *** p < .001; ** p < .01; * p < .05.
Figure 10
GAMM-estimated Smooths and Condition Differences in Experiment 2.
Note. The smooths for the effect of Condition on Goal–Agent fixation difference (difference between the empirical logits of Goal and Agent) are on the left panel. GAMM-derived difference curves for the effect of Verb Speed on Goal–Agent fixation difference are shown for single scenes (middle panel) and double scenes (right panel). The x-axis is time in milliseconds, with 0 ms marking the onset of the audio.
| PREDICTORS | AGENT | PATH | GOAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | |
| (Intercept) | 5.96 | 0.42 | 14.13 | <0.001 | 4.91 | 047 | 10.38 | <0.001 | 7.55 | 0.38 | 20.10 | <0.001 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.83 | 0.406 | –0.05 | 0.08 | –0.57 | 0.569 | –0.07 | 0.07 | –1.06 | 0.287 |
| Scene [Double] | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.21 | 0.835 | –0.58 | 0.11 | –5.37 | <0.001 | –0.43 | 0.05 | –9.15 | <0.001 |
| Verb Frequency | 0.11 | 0.04 | 2.68 | 0.008 | 0.09 | 0.04 | 2.15 | 0.032 | –0.03 | 0.04 | –0.72 | 0.474 |
| Verb Duration | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.37 | 0.171 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.56 | 0.119 | –0.00 | 0.00 | –1.25 | 0.213 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] × Scene [Double] | –0.05 | 0.06 | —0.83 | 0.404 | 0.24 | 0.15 | 1.57 | 0.118 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.79 | 0.427 |
| Random Effects | ||||||||||||
| σ2 | 0.31 | 0.38 | 0.33 | |||||||||
| τ00 | 0.03participant | 0.01participant | 0.05participant | |||||||||
| 0.02item | 0.00item | 0.02item | ||||||||||
| ICC | 0.14 | 0.16 | ||||||||||
| N | 40participant | 40participant | 40participant | |||||||||
| 32item | 32item | 32item | ||||||||||
| Observations | 1257 | 335 | 1195 | |||||||||
| Marginal R2/Conditional R2 | 0.026/0.165 | 0.126/NA | 0.101/0.245 | |||||||||
| PREDICTORS | AGENT | PATH | GOAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | |
| (Intercept) | 5.63 | 0.40 | 14.18 | <0.001 | 4.90 | 0.47 | 10.52 | <0.001 | 7.43 | 0.34 | 22.02 | <0.001 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.75 | 0.451 | –0.07 | 0.08 | –0.94 | 0346 | –0.10 | 0.06 | –1.56 | 0.119 |
| Scene [Double] | 0.08 | 0.05 | 1.49 | 0.136 | –0.59 | 0.11 | –5.54 | <0.001 | –0.41 | 0.05 | –8.34 | <0.001 |
| Verb Frequency | 0.08 | 0.04 | 2.04 | 0.042 | 0.09 | 0.04 | 2.29 | 0.023 | –0.04 | 0.03 | –1.28 | 0.202 |
| Verb Duration | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.01 | 0.045 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.57 | 0.118 | –0.00 | 0.00 | –1.05 | 0.293 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] × Scene [Double] | –0.04 | 0.07 | —0.52 | 0.606 | 0.27 | 0.15 | 1.79 | 0.074 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 1.24 | 0.215 |
| Random Effects | ||||||||||||
| σ2 | 0.39 | 0.35 | 035 | |||||||||
| τ00 | 0.04participant | 0.01participant | 0.05participant | |||||||||
| 0.02item | 0.00item | 0.01item | ||||||||||
| ICC | 0.13 | 0.14 | ||||||||||
| N | 40participant | 40participant | 40participant | |||||||||
| 32item | 32item | 32item | ||||||||||
| Observations | 1158 | 328 | 1149 | |||||||||
| Marginal R2/Conditional R2 | 0.019/0.144 | 0.134/NA | 0.084/0.213 | |||||||||
| PREDICTORS | AGENT | PATH | GOAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | |
| (Intercept) | 6.88 | 0.32 | 21.21 | <0.001 | 5.80 | 0.55 | 10.61 | <0.001 | 7.10 | 0.39 | 18.39 | <0.001 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] | –0.10 | 0.06 | –1.70 | 0.089 | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.95 | 0.344 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 1.67 | 0.095 |
| Scene [Double] | 0.07 | 0.04 | 1.78 | 0.075 | –0.65 | 0.10 | –6.31 | <0.001 | –0.22 | 0.05 | –4.64 | <0.001 |
| Verb Frequency | 0.07 | 0.03 | 2.19 | 0.029 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.63 | 0.529 | –0.03 | 0.04 | –0.73 | 0.463 |
| Verb Duration | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.61 | 0.539 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.69 | 0.490 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.72 | 0.472 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] × Scene [Double] | 0.09 | 0.06 | 1.55 | 0.121 | –0.10 | 0.14 | –0.72 | 0.473 | –0.21 | 0.07 | –3.17 | 0.002 |
| Random Effects | ||||||||||||
| σ2 | 0.28 | 0.46 | 0.34 | |||||||||
| τ00 | 0.03participant | 0.09participant | 0.06participant | |||||||||
| 0.01item | 0.02item | 0.02item | ||||||||||
| ICC | 0.13 | 0.20 | 0.18 | |||||||||
| N | 40participant | 40participant | 40participant | |||||||||
| 32item | 32item | 32item | ||||||||||
| Observations | 1267 | 548 | 1244 | |||||||||
| Marginal R2/Conditional R2 | 0.025/0.153 | 0.142/0.311 | 0.067/0.237 | |||||||||
| PREDICTORS | AGENT | PATH | GOAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | EST. | SE | t | p | |
| (Intercept) | 6.70 | 0.36 | 18.61 | <0.001 | 5.76 | 0.48 | 11.93 | <0.001 | 6.96 | 0.36 | 19.13 | <0.001 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] | –0.08 | 0.07 | –1.24 | 0.214 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.81 | 0.418 | 0.14 | 0.07 | 2.17 | 0.030 |
| Scene [Double] | 0.10 | 0.05 | 2.03 | 0.042 | –0.65 | 0.11 | –6.09 | <0.001 | –0.20 | 0.05 | –4.17 | <0.001 |
| Verb Frequency | 0.05 | 0.04 | 1.34 | 0.180 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.68 | 0.495 | –0.02 | 0.04 | –0.70 | 0.485 |
| Verb Duration | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.63 | 0.527 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.90 | 0370 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.90 | 0.370 |
| Verb Speed [Slow] × Scene [Double] | 0.10 | 0,07 | 1.42 | 0.156 | –0.08 | 0.14 | –0.53 | 0.597 | –0.26 | 0.07 | –3.78 | <0.001 |
| Random Effects | ||||||||||||
| σ2 | 0.36 | 0.48 | 0.35 | |||||||||
| τ00 | 0.03participant | 0.09participant | 0.06participant | |||||||||
| 0.01item | 0.01item | 0.01item | ||||||||||
| ICC | 0.11 | 0.17 | 0.18 | |||||||||
| N | 40participant | 40participant | 40participant | |||||||||
| 32item | 32item | 32item | ||||||||||
| Observations | 1206 | 533 | 1214 | |||||||||
| Marginal R2/Conditional R2 | 0.019/0.129 | 0.134/0.278 | 0.071/0.241 | |||||||||