{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T13:23:40Z","timestamp":1788269020604,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Eye Mov. Res.","JEMR"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Skilled readers are thought to rely on bottom-up processing to activate word meanings in long-term memory from their form (i.e., spelling or sound) in a process described as \u2018context-free\u2019 lexical processing. However, other research suggests skilled readers recognize words faster when they appear in predictable and\/or plausible contexts, despite efficient bottom-up processing. Research on individual differences in skilled comprehension suggests skilled readers only use context to support word recognition when bottom-up processing is slow. Therefore, highly skilled readers may not rely on context, but less-skilled readers may continue to rely on context during word recognition due to poor bottom-up processing. The current study investigated whether individual differences in lexical quality would influence contextual processing during word recognition. Participants\u2019 eye movements were tracked as they read sentences containing either a high-frequency (e.g., baby) or low-frequency (e.g., elbow) target word preceded by either a related prime word (mother\u2013baby) or an unrelated control word (teeth\u2013elbow). Results show relatedness had a significant effect on readers across the range of lexical knowledge; however, the specific effect depended on both vocabulary and target word frequency. The results suggest that context supports word recognition and comprehension when readers have adequate vocabulary.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jemr19050095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T09:00:35Z","timestamp":1787821235000},"page":"95","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lexical Context Effects During Reading: The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge and Word Frequency"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4836-9347","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashley","family":"Abraham","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Psychology Department, School of Education, Health, and Human Behavior, Southern Illinois University\u2014Edwardsville, 1 Hairpin Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62026, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jocelyn","family":"Folk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological Sciences, College of Sciences and Humanities, Kent State University, 1075 Risman Drive, Kent, OH 44243, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-0663.96.4.671","article-title":"Individual differences in the inference of word meanings from context: The influence of reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and memory capacity","volume":"96","author":"Cain","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. 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