Exploring the Impacts of Consumers' Systematic and Intuitive Cognitive Styles on Their Visual Attention Patterns in Online Shopping Environments: Emphasis on Eye-Tracking Method

Eye-tracking technology is a biometric tool that has found many commercial and research applications. The recent advent of affordable wearable sensors has considerably expanded the range of these possibilities to fields such as computer gaming, education, entertainment, health, neuromarketing, psychology, etc. The Visual Attention Software by 3M (3M-VAS) is an artificial intelligence application that was formulated using experimental data from eye-tracking. It can be used to predict viewer reactions to images, generating fixation point probability maps and fixation point sequence estimations, thus revealing pre-attentive processing of visual stimuli with a very high degree of accuracy. We have used 3M-VAS software in an innovative implementation to analyze images of different buildings, either in their original state or photographically manipulated, as well as various geometric patterns. The software not only reveals non-obvious fixation points, but also overall relative design coherence, a key element of Christopher Alexander’s theory of geometrical order. A more evenly distributed field of attention seen in some structures contrasts with other buildings being ignored, those showing instead unconnected points of splintered attention. Our findings are non-intuitive and surprising. We link these results to both Alexander’s theory and Neuroscience, identify potential pitfalls in the software’s use, and also suggest ways to avoid them.

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Does What We See Shape History? Examining Workload History as a Function of Performance and Ambient/Focal Visual Attention

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception ◽

10.1145/3449066 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Shannon P. Devlin ◽

Jennifer K. Byham ◽

Sara Lu Riggs

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Performance Measure ◽

Task Demands ◽

Unexpected Finding ◽

Impact Performance ◽

History Effects ◽

And Performance ◽

Workload History ◽

Over Time

Changes in task demands can have delayed adverse impacts on performance. This phenomenon, known as the workload history effect, is especially of concern in dynamic work domains where operators manage fluctuating task demands. The existing workload history literature does not depict a consistent picture regarding how these effects manifest, prompting research to consider measures that are informative on the operator's process. One promising measure is visual attention patterns, due to its informativeness on various cognitive processes. To explore its ability to explain workload history effects, participants completed a task in an unmanned aerial vehicle command and control testbed where workload transitioned gradually and suddenly. The participants’ performance and visual attention patterns were studied over time to identify workload history effects. The eye-tracking analysis consisted of using a recently developed eye-tracking metric called coefficient K , as it indicates whether visual attention is more focal or ambient. The performance results found workload history effects, but it depended on the workload level, time elapsed, and performance measure. The eye-tracking analysis suggested performance suffered when focal attention was deployed during low workload, which was an unexpected finding. When synthesizing these results, they suggest unexpected visual attention patterns can impact performance immediately over time. Further research is needed; however, this work shows the value of including a real-time visual attention measure, such as coefficient K , as a means to understand how the operator manages varying task demands in complex work environments.

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How to take advantage of tablet computers: Effects of news structure on recall and comprehension

Communications ◽

10.1515/commun-2015-0020 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Anna Van Cauwenberge ◽

Leen d’Haenens ◽

Hans Beentjes

Keyword(s):

Eye Tracking ◽

Tablet Computers ◽

Tracking Method ◽

News Stories ◽

News Consumption ◽

Set Up ◽

And Control ◽

Factual Recall

AbstractIn light of the growing use of tablets for news reading and mobile news consumption behaviors, this study examined whether an innovative way of structuring news on the tablet that mimics mobile news behaviors reinforced attention for, and learning from, news. Specifically, it was theorized that the chronological and associative structuring of news articles into so-called developing news stories would lead to more attention for news, and better recall and comprehension of news, than the linear print newspaper structure that newspaper publishers continue to copy from print to tablet. A multiple-day experiment was set up using the eye-tracking method to measure and control for attention. The results show that the developing news structure increased comprehension of news substantively, independently of attention effects; no effects were found on attention and factual recall.

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Visual attention for solving multiple-choice science problem: An eye-tracking analysis

Computers & Education ◽

10.1016/j.compedu.2011.07.012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 375-385 ◽

Cited By ~ 128

Author(s):

Meng-Jung Tsai ◽

Huei-Tse Hou ◽

Meng-Lung Lai ◽

Wan-Yi Liu ◽

Fang-Ying Yang

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Multiple Choice ◽

Science Problem

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Assessing the Relationship among Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions in Online Shopping Environments

2011 Fourth International Conference on Business Intelligence and Financial Engineering ◽

10.1109/bife.2011.26 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Jing He ◽

Yun Bai

Keyword(s):

Customer Satisfaction ◽

Service Quality ◽

Behavioral Intentions ◽

Online Shopping ◽

Shopping Environments ◽

The Relationship

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Seeking attention: an eye tracking study of in-store merchandise displays

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management ◽

10.1108/ijrdm-06-2013-0120 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 43 (6) ◽

pp. 561-574 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Patricia Huddleston ◽

Bridget K. Behe ◽

Stella Minahan ◽

R. Thomas Fernandez

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Eye Tracking ◽

Purchase Intention ◽

Product Information ◽

Product Category ◽

Practical Significance ◽

Content Type ◽

First Time ◽

Tracking Technology

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the role that visual measures of attention to product and information and price display signage have on purchase intention. The authors assessed the effect of visual attention to the product, information or price sign on purchase intention, as measured by likelihood to buy. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used eye-tracking technology to collect data from Australian and US garden centre customers, who viewed eight plant displays in which the signs had been altered to show either price or supplemental information (16 images total). The authors compared the role of visual attention to price and information sign, and the role of visual attention to the product when either sign was present on likelihood to buy. Findings – Overall, providing product information on a sign without price elicited higher likelihood to buy than providing a sign with price. The authors found a positive relationship between visual attention to price on the display sign and likelihood to buy, but an inverse relationship between visual attention to information and likelihood to buy. Research limitations/implications – An understanding of the attention-capturing power of merchandise display elements, especially signs, has practical significance. The findings will assist retailers in creating more effective and efficient display signage content, for example, featuring the product information more prominently than the price. The study was conducted on a minimally packaged product, live plants, which may reduce the ability to generalize findings to other product types. Practical implications – The findings will assist retailers in creating more effective and efficient display signage content. The study used only one product category (plants) which may reduce the ability to generalize findings to other product types. Originality/value – The study is one of the first to use eye-tracking in a macro-level, holistic investigation of the attention-capturing value of display signage information and its relationship to likelihood to buy. Researchers, for the first time, now have the ability to empirically test the degree to which attention and decision-making are linked.

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