scholarly journals Workload assessment for mental arithmetic tasks using the task-evoked pupillary response

Author(s):  
Gerhard Marquart ◽  
Joost de Winter

Pupillometry is a promising method for assessing mental workload and could be helpful in the optimization of systems that involve human-computer interaction. The present study focuses on replicating the pupil diameter study by Ahern (1978) for mental multiplications of varying difficulty, using an automatic remote eye tracker. Our results showed that the findings of Ahern were replicated and that the mean pupil diameter and mean pupil diameter change (MPDC) discriminated just as well between the three difficulty levels as did a self-report questionnaire of mental workload (NASA-TLX). A higher mean blink rate was observed during the multiplication period for the highest level of difficulty in comparison with the other two levels. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the MPDC and the proportion of incorrect responses, indicating that the MPDC was higher for participants with a lower performance. For practical applications, validity could be improved by combining pupillometry with other physiological techniques.

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Marquart ◽  
Joost de Winter

Pupillometry is a promising method for assessing mental workload and could be helpful in the optimization of systems that involve human-computer interaction. The present study focuses on replicating the studies by Ahern (1978) and Klingner (2010), which found that for three levels of difficulty of mental multiplications, the more difficult multiplications yielded larger dilations of the pupil. Using a remote eye tracker, our research expands upon these two previous studies by statistically testing for each 1.5 s interval of the calculation period (1) the mean absolute pupil diameter (MPD), (2) the mean pupil diameter change (MPDC) with respect to the pupil diameter during the pre-stimulus accommodation period, and (3) the mean pupil diameter change rate (MPDCR). An additional novelty of our research is that we compared the pupil diameter measure with a self-report measure of workload, the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and with the mean blink rate (MBR). The results showed that the findings of Ahern and Klingner were replicated, and that the MPD and MPDC discriminated just as well between the lowest and highest difficulty levels as did the NASA-TLX. The MBR, on the other hand, did not interpretably differentiate between the difficulty levels. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the MPDC and the proportion of incorrect responses, indicating that the MPDC was higher for participants with a poorer performance. For practical applications, validity could be improved by combining pupillometry with other physiological techniques.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Marquart ◽  
Joost de Winter

Pupillometry is a promising method for assessing mental workload and could be helpful in the optimization of systems that involve human-computer interaction. The present study focuses on replicating the studies by Ahern (1978) and Klingner (2010), which found that for three levels of difficulty of mental multiplications, the more difficult multiplications yielded larger dilations of the pupil. Using a remote eye tracker, our research expands upon these two previous studies by statistically testing for each 1.5 s interval of the calculation period (1) the mean absolute pupil diameter (MPD), (2) the mean pupil diameter change (MPDC) with respect to the pupil diameter during the pre-stimulus accommodation period, and (3) the mean pupil diameter change rate (MPDCR). An additional novelty of our research is that we compared the pupil diameter measure with a self-report measure of workload, the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and with the mean blink rate (MBR). The results showed that the findings of Ahern and Klingner were replicated, and that the MPD and MPDC discriminated just as well between the lowest and highest difficulty levels as did the NASA-TLX. The MBR, on the other hand, did not interpretably differentiate between the difficulty levels. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the MPDC and the proportion of incorrect responses, indicating that the MPDC was higher for participants with a poorer performance. For practical applications, validity could be improved by combining pupillometry with other physiological techniques.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4274
Author(s):  
Song Fang ◽  
Jianxiao Ma

Through an urban tunnel-driving experiment, this paper studies the changing trend of drivers’ visual characteristics in tunnels. A Tobii Pro Glasses 2 wearable eye tracker was used to measure pupil diameter, scanning time, and fixation point distribution of the driver during driving. A two-step clustering algorithm and the data-fitting method were used to analyze the experimental data. The results show that the univariate clustering analysis of the pupil diameter change rate of drivers has poor discrimination because the pupil diameter change rate of drivers in the process of “dark adaptation” is larger, while the pupil diameter change rate of drivers in the process of “bright adaptation” is relatively smooth. The univariate and bivariate clustering results of drivers’ pupil diameters were all placed into three categories, with reasonable distribution and suitable differentiation. The clustering results accurately corresponded to different locations of the tunnel. The clustering method proposed in this paper can identify similar behaviors of drivers at different locations in the transition section at the tunnel entrance, the inner section, and the outer area of the tunnel. Through data-fitting of drivers’ visual characteristic parameters in different tunnels, it was found that a short tunnel, with a length of less than 1 km, has little influence on visual characteristics when the maximum pupil diameter is small, and the percentage of saccades is relatively low. An urban tunnel with a length between 1 and 2 km has a significant influence on visual characteristics. In this range, with the increase in tunnel length, the maximum pupil diameter increases significantly, and the percentage of saccades increases rapidly. When the tunnel length exceeds 2 km, the maximum pupil diameter does not continue to increase. The longer the urban tunnel, the more discrete the distribution of drivers’ gaze points. The research results should provide a scientific basis for the design of urban tunnel traffic safety facilities and traffic organization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (9) ◽  
pp. 1538-1543
Author(s):  
Jianyang Zhang ◽  
Shenglin Liu ◽  
Qingmin Feng ◽  
Jiaqi Gao ◽  
Ju Cheng ◽  
...  

Although the mental workload confronted by laparoscopic surgeons is rather high, there is presently no reliable, established method for evaluating this workload. In the present study, four evaluation indices of eye movement metrics were applied to evaluate surgeons’ mental workload. Correlations between these indices and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores were also explored. Sixteen participants were recruited to complete four laparoscopic procedures. Eye movement was recorded during the tasks, and NASA-TLX scales were also introduced for subjective evaluation. The data were analyzed using R 3.3.2. Significant differences in the mental workload of each task were observed. Statistically significant correlations between mean pupil diameter change and NASA-TLX scores were also observed. The correlation coefficients were 0.763, 0.675, 0.405, and 0.547, and the P values correspondingly were 0.001, 0.004, 0.12, and 0.028, respectively. The results clarify that the mental workload of laparoscopic surgeons is dependent on the specific demands of the operation. Appropriate objective physiological indices can be used to identify the mental workload state of the surgeon.


Author(s):  
Satoru Tokuda ◽  
Evan Palmer ◽  
Edgar Merkle ◽  
Alex Chaparro

This study proposes a new method to quantify mental workload (MWL) automatically, without interfering with the operator's primary task performance. An unobtrusive Tobii eye tracker recorded eye movements while participants were engaged in a cognitively demanding N-back task. Original algorithms automatically analyzed the eye data, detected specific eye deviation movements called saccadic intrusions (SIs), and automatically quantified the eye deviation accounted for SIs. This SI measure was strongly correlated with the task difficulty levels in the N-back tasks and with pupil diameter. This indicates that the SI measure appeared to reflect MWL and may be used as a measure of MWL.


Author(s):  
Catherine M. Burns ◽  
Laura K. Thompson ◽  
Antonio Rodriguez

In designing large ecological displays, designers are faced with the question of how to display multiple levels of abstract information. Previous research has shown that people may perform better, in terms of diagnosis speed and accuracy, if multiple levels of information are presented in an integrated format (Burns, 2000). We repeated the study of Burns (2000) which looks at providing abstract information in three formats - one level at a time, windowed and integrated. We collected eye tracking data at intervals throughout the experiment. Our eye-tracker was able to collect pupil diameter measures and changes. Results showed no notable difference in pupil diameter measures between the integrated condition and the one level at a time condition, but notably higher increases in pupil diameter when abstract information was in separate windows. Furthermore, pupil diameters increased over time in the windowed condition, suggesting that workload with this display may have been increasing. These preliminary data suggest that separating levels of abstract information may increase the mental workload of operators.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazumoto Morita ◽  
Kazunori Obata ◽  
Michiaki Sekine ◽  
Takeo Okada ◽  
Jinichi Mashiko

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Ein

This thesis examined the role of viewing a picture of one’s pet as a mechanism for alleviating the symptoms of stress. The mental arithmetic task (MAT), a psychosocial stressor was used to induce stress. Participants were randomly assigned into one of six visual conditions: either a picture of their personal pet (n = 9), an unfamiliar animal (n = 9), a person who is supportive and important to the participant (n = 9), an unfamiliar person to the participant (n =8), a pleasant image (control 1) (n = 8) or no image (control 2) (n = 8). Stress reactivity, both physical (e.g., blood pressure) and subjective (self-reported anxiety), were measured. Findings indicated that contrary to the hypothesis, viewing a picture of one’s personal pet did not reduce stress reactivity, measured either subjectively (self-report) or objectively (physiological assessment). However, the study suggests that various images can influence stress reactivity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Kiho Kim ◽  
Yeonsil Lee ◽  
Hui-Teak Kim ◽  
Jang-Han Lee

We investigated the effects of auditory and visual stimuli on pupil dilation induced by emotional arousal during deception. The 33 participants were free to select to be in either a guilty or a not-guilty group. The guilty group performed a theft crime mission, and the not-guilty group performed a legal mission. To detect deception, we measured their pupil diameter with an eye tracker, and they completed the Control Question Test that is typically employed in polygraph tests, and which is based on a comparison of physiological responses to crime-relevant questions and comparison questions. This test was presented via one of three stimuli: auditory, visual, or dual sensory (auditory and visual simultaneously). The findings revealed that the diameter of the pupils of the guilty group increased differently according to the question type when both auditory and visual stimuli were presented simultaneously. Results suggest that pupil dilation could be the deception discriminant, and the use of more than one sensory stimulus may support lie detection in forensic investigations.


2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
George S. Yacoubian

Urinalysis is utilized routinely as a tool to validate self-reported drug use. Past research has been inconclusive, however, in confirming strong correlations between urinalysis and self-reported drug use. In the current study, correlation estimates for cocaine and heroin use are derived from adult arrestees surveyed through the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program between 1990 and 1997. While the strength of agreement between urinalysis and self-report data varies by both substance and jurisdiction, correlation estimates are consistent over time. These findings suggest that the need for urinalysis should be reassessed.


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