Association Between Machine Translation Post-Editing and Post-Editors’ Cognition: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis Based on Eye-Tracking Evidence

Prior research has overlooked interdependent effect sizes and moderating factors between machine translation post-editing (MTPE) and the post-editor’s cognition. To fill this void, the study employs a three-level meta-analysis. A total of 19 high-quality studies, with an average quality score of 8.158, were included in the analysis. These included studies encompass 193 effect sizes and 492 participants. The findings indicate a positive link between MTPE and the post-editor’s cognition (r = 0.474), suggesting higher levels of cognitive engagement in post-editing tasks. Among the moderators examined, several study-level characteristics were associated with variability in effect sizes. These characteristics include whether PE attitudes were reported, text types, cognition measurement tools, and cognitive indicators. In contrast, studies that reported MTPE attitudes showed a different pattern of effect sizes. Overall, this study provides rigorous evidence on the multifaceted impacts of MTPE on translators’ cognition. It also clarifies how dependent effect sizes should be modeled in translation cognition research.