The role of L1 reading direction on L2 perceptual span: An eye-tracking study investigating Hindi and Urdu speakers

In the current study we used the gaze-contingent moving window paradigm to directly compare the second language (L2) English perceptual span of two groups that speak languages with essentially the same lexicon and grammar but crucially with different writing directions (and scripts): Hindi (read left to right) and Urdu (read right to left). This is the first study to directly compare first language (L1) speakers of languages that differ primarily in reading direction in a common L2, English. While Urdu speakers had a slightly faster reading rate, we found no additional differences between Hindi and Urdu speakers when reading L2 English; both groups showed a perceptual span between 9 and 11 characters to the right of the fixation based on saccade length. This suggests little to no influence of L1 reading direction on L2 perceptual span, but rather that L2 perceptual span is influenced by allocation of attention during reading. Our data are in line with research by Leung et al. (2014) finding that L2 speakers have a smaller perceptual span than native speakers (L1 perceptual span is approximately 15 characters to the right of the fixation). This most likely stems from the increased demands associated with reading in a second language, which led to a reduction in the amount of attention that can be allocated outside of the current fixation.

Let Me Make You Happy, and I'll Tell You How You Look Around: Using an Approach-Avoidance Task as an Embodied Emotion Prime in a Free-Viewing Task

The embodied approach of human cognition suggests that concepts are deeply dependent upon and constrained by an agent's physical body's characteristics, such as performed body movements. In this study, we attempted to broaden previous research on emotional priming, investigating the interaction of emotions and visual exploration. We used the joystick-based approach-avoidance task to influence the emotional states of participants, and subsequently, we presented pictures of news web pages on a computer screen and measured participant's eye movements. As a result, the number of fixations on images increased, the total dwell time increased, and the average saccade length from outside of the images toward the images decreased after the bodily congruent priming phase. The combination of these effects suggests increased attention to web pages' image content after the participants performed bodily congruent actions in the priming phase. Thus, congruent bodily interaction with images in the priming phase fosters visual interaction in the subsequent exploration phase.

Usability Evaluation using Eye-Tracking on E-Commerce and Education Domains

The rapid consumption of content on the web and the creation of online businesses and educational platforms require improved usability for the user. It also calls for concerted effort to understand users' interactions with these digital products and services. This study was carried out to investigate the search and scan patterns employed by users interacting with the selected web interface from the e-commerce and education domains and also to establish the possibility of a localized interface design patterns in Nigeria. Usability evaluation was conducted using OGAMA software as an eye-tracking tool, to record as well as to analyze eye and mouse tracking data from slideshow eye-tracking experiments concurrently. During the evaluation period, fixation count, fixation length and saccade length of each website were taken into the consideration. Findings revealed that educational based site delivers users’ need than that of e-commerce due to less level of distraction as a result of fewer images and pictures. The study recommends that interface designs should be void of the display of excessive ad contents and include proper formatting of navigation items to contribute towards an enhanced user experience.

A dynamic adjustment account of word skipping in reading: Evidence from simulations and invisible boundary experiments

Prevalent models of eye movement control in reading of word-spaced orthographies assume a discrete control account to explain word skipping. Accordingly, word skipping results from advanced parafoveal word activation during preview, leading to the selection of word n+2 as a saccade target. Consequently, visual and linguistic content of the parafoveal word affect which word is selected as a saccade target. In contrast, according to dynamic adjustment view, saccade lengths in reading are affected by current and next word properties in a continuous manner. First, these predictions were confirmed via simulations for representative models of discrete and dynamic control. Then results of three gaze-contingent invisible boundary experiments studying the visuo-attentional mechanism of skipping are being reported. The results support the dynamic adjustment view by showing a unimodal landing position distribution across a candidate word for skipping and its subsequent word, and that the content of parafoveal word modulates the saccade length only slightly and in a continuous manner. In addition, the location of a visual anomaly within a word had no effect on saccade length, suggesting that parafoveal vision of next word is subject of attention enhancement early enough to affect saccade length computation.

Analysis of observing and recognition profile facial images using eye tracking system

Facial images have been the subject of research for many years, using the eye-tracking system. However, most researchers concentrate on the frontal view of facial images. Much less research has been done on faces shown at different angles or profile views of faces in facial images. However, as we know, in reality we often view faces from different angles and not just from a frontal view. In our research we used a profile presentation of facial images and analyzed memory and recognition depending on the display time and dimensions of the facial images. Two tests were performed, i.e. the observation and the recognition test, and we used the well-known yes/no detection theory. We used four different display times in the observation test (1, 2, 4 and 8 seconds) and two different dimensions of facial images 640 × 480 and 1280 × 960). All facial images were taken from the standardized face database Minear&Park. We measured the recognition success which is mostly presented as a discrimination index A’, incorrect recognition (FA – false alarm) and time-spatial method based on fixation duration and saccade length. In this case, eye tracking provides us with objective results when viewing facial images. In the results it was found that extending the display time of facial images improves recognition performance and that the dependence is logarithmic. At the same time, wrong recognition decreased. Both parameters are independent of the dimensions of the facial images. This fact has been proven by some other researchers also for frontal facial images. It was also discovered that with an increase of the display time of facial images an increase of the fixation duration and saccade lengths occurred. In all results we detected major changes at the display time of four seconds, which we consider as a time, where the subjects looked at the whole face and their gaze returned to the center of the face (in our case eye and mouth).

Eye tracking study of frontal and profile face image observation and recognition

Facial images are an important element of nonverbal communication. Eye-tracking systems enable us to objectively measure and analyse the way we look at facial images and thus to study the behaviour of observers. Different ways of looking at facial images influence the process of remembering faces and recognition performance. In the real world we are dealing with different representations of faces, especially when we look at them from different angles. Memory and recognition performance are different when test subjects look at the face from the frontal or from a profile view. We studied crossobservation and recognition, so we performed two tests. In the first test, subjects observed facial images shown in the frontal view and recognized them in the profile view. In the second test, the faces were observed from the profile and recognized in the frontal view. The presentation time in the observation test was four seconds, which was found to be an adequate time for sufficient recognition in some previous tests. The results were analysed with the well-known time and spatial method based on fixations and saccades and with the new area method using heatmaps of the eye tracking results. We found that the recognition success (correct and incorrect recognition) was better when the combination of frontal view and profile recognition was used. The results were then confirmed by measuring the fixation duration and saccade length. More visible facial features resulted in a shorter fixation duration and shorter saccade length, which led to a better memory. We also confirmed the results of observation and recognition by area analysis, where we measured the area, perimeter and circularity of heatmaps. Here we found that larger areas and perimeter and smaller circularity of heatmaps resulted in better memory of facial images and therefore better recognition.

Let Me Make You Happy, And I’ll Tell You How you look around: Using an Approach-Avoidance Task as an Embodied Emotion Prime in a Free-Viewing Task

The embodied approach of human cognition suggests that concepts are deeply dependent upon and constrained by an agent’s physical body’s characteristics, such as performed body movements. In this study, we attempted to broaden previous research on emotional priming, investigating the interaction of emotions and visual exploration. We used the joystick-based approach-avoidance task to influence the emotional states of participants, and subsequently, we presented pictures of news web pages on a computer screen and measured participant’s eye movements. As a result, the number of fixations on images increased, the total dwell time increased, and the average saccade length from outside of the images towards the images decreased after the bodily congruent priming phase. The combination of these effects suggests increased attention to web pages’ image content after the participants performed bodily congruent actions in the priming phase. Thus, congruent bodily interaction with images in the priming phase fosters visual interaction in the subsequent exploration phase.

Interaction effects of aging, word frequency, and predictability on saccade length in Chinese reading

Background It was well known that age has an impact on word processing (word frequency or predictability) in terms of fixating time during reading. However, little is known about whether or not age modulates these impacts on saccade behaviors in Chinese reading (i.e., length of incoming/outgoing saccades for a target word). Methods Age groups, predictability, and frequency of target words were manipulated in the present study. A larger frequency effect on lexical accessing (i.e., gaze duration) and on context integration (i.e., go-past time, total reading time), as well as larger predictability effects on data of raw total reading time, were observed in older readers when compared with their young counterparts. Results Effect of predictability and frequency on word skipping and re-fixating rate did not differ across the two age groups. Notably, reliable interaction effects of age, along with word predictability and/or frequency, on the length of the first incoming/outgoing saccade for a target word were also observed. Discussion Our findings suggest that the word processing function of older Chinese readers in terms of saccade targeting declines with age.