Olhos sobre quadrinhos: uma análise experimental da leitura de HQ com rastreamento ocular

Abstract

This dissertation aims to investigate the reading of comic books with non-conventional layouts. Previous international research (Cohn, 2013a, 2013b; Cohn & Campbell, 2015; Nakazawa, 2005) indicates that non-conventional layouts exhibit significant differences in reading patterns, fixations, and comprehension when compared to comics with a traditional Zshaped reading order. The research conducted in this dissertation was developed within the field of experimental Psycholinguistics (Leitão, 2008) and sought to investigate fixation differences between comics with a traditional layout (Z-shaped) and those without a clear reading order. To achieve this, a reading experiment was conducted using the Tobii Eye-Tracker, available at NEALP (Núcleo de Estudos de Aquisição de Linguagem e Psicolinguística) at the Unversidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. The experiment participants completed a preliminary questionnaire assessing their familiarity with comic book reading, categorizing them as advanced, intermediate, or below average (Cohn, 2013). During the experiment, they read a prose excerpt from the story “Um intérprete grego” and two pages from the HQ “Na mente do Sherlock Holmes: O caso do bilhete escandaloso”, one following a traditional reading order (HQC) and the other without a clear sequence (HQNC). After reading, participants answered two comprehension questions about the texts. It was expected that both the different layouts and the participants reading familiarity levels would influence their eye fixations and comprehension question responses. The experiment results revealed significant differences in total fixation time and the number of fixations across text types and participants familiarity levels. Advanced readers demonstrated greater reading efficiency in comics, exhibiting the shortest total fixation duration and the highest number of fixations. Among the comics, the non-conventional comic, which lacked a clear reading path, presented a longer total fixation duration than the conventional comic.