gaze-contingency paradigm

Over the past century, the way the eyes move in human activities as diverse as playing sport, viewing works of art, piloting aircraft, exploring visual scenes, recognizing face or facial expressions,{{cite journal |last1=Melissa H. Black |last2=Nigel T.M. Chen |last3=Kartik K. Iyer |last4=Ottmar V. Lipp |last5=Sven Bölte |last6=Marita Falkmer |last7=Tele Tan |last8=Sonya J. Girdler |title=Mechanisms of facial emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorders: Insights from eye tracking and electroencephalography |journal=Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews |date=2017 |volume=80 |pages=488–515 |doi=10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.06.016|pmid=28698082 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Falck-Ytter |first1=Terje |last2=Bölte |first2=Sven |last3=Gredebäck |first3=Gustaf |title=Eye tracking in early autism research |journal=Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=28 |date=2013 |doi=10.1186/1866-1955-5-28|pmid=24069955 |pmc=3849191 |doi-access=free }} reading language, and sight-reading of music,{{cite journal |last1=Pollatsek |first1=A |last2=Rayner |first2=K |title=Eye movements, the eye–hand span, and the perceptual span in sight-reading of music |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |date=1990 |pages=49–53}} has revealed some of the ocular and psychological mechanisms involved in the visual system.

The gaze-contingent techniques aim to overcome limitations inherent to simple eye-movement recording. Indeed, due to an imperfect coupling between overt and covert attention,{{cite journal |last1=Murthy |first1=A. |last2=Thompson |first2=K. G. |last3=Schall |first3=J. D. |s2cid=653798 |title=Dynamic dissociation of visual selection from saccade programming in frontal eye field. |journal=Journal of Neurophysiology |date=2001 |volume=86 |issue=5 |pages=2634–2637|doi=10.1152/jn.2001.86.5.2634 |pmid=11698551 }}{{cite journal |last1=Posner |first1=M. I. |title=Orienting of attention |journal=Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology |date=1980 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=3–25|pmid=7367577 |doi=10.1080/00335558008248231 |s2cid=2842391 }}{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=R |last2=Farrell |first2=M |title=Search performance without eye movements. |journal=Perception & Psychophysics |date=1989 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=476–482|doi=10.3758/BF03210863 |pmid=2813033 |doi-access=free }} it is not possible to exactly know which visual information the viewer is processing based on the fixation locations. By controlling precisely the information projected in different parts of the visual field, the gaze-contingent techniques permit to disentangle what is fixated and what is processed.

The technical principle of the paradigm involves a computer interfaced with both an eye-movement tracking system (eye-tracker) and a display of the visual stimulus. Successful gaze-contingency requires a fast computer, a display with a high refresh rate, and an eye tracker with low latency.{{cite journal |last1=Veneri |first1=G |last2=Federighi |first2=P |last3=Rosini |first3=F |last4=Federico |first4=A |last5=Rufa |first5=A |title=Influences of data filtering on human-computer interaction by gaze-contingent display and eye-tracking applications. |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |date=2010 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=1555–1563|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2010.05.030 }}{{cite book |last1=Duchowski |first1=AT |title=Eye Tracking Methodology: Theory and Practice |date=2007 |publisher=Springer |edition=2nd}} In gaze-contingent displays, the stimulus is continuously updated as a function of the observers' current gaze position; for instance, in the moving window paradigm,{{cite journal|pmid=11587725|year=2001|last1=Pomplun|first1=M|title=Peripheral and parafoveal cueing and masking effects on saccadic selectivity in a gaze-contingent window paradigm|journal=Vision Research|volume=41|issue=21|pages=2757–69|last2=Reingold|first2=E. M|last3=Shen|first3=J|doi=10.1016/S0042-6989(01)00145-6|s2cid=18233786|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Reder |first1=S.M. |title=On-line monitoring of eye position signals in contingent and noncontingent paradigms |journal=Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation |date=1973 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=218–28|doi=10.3758/BF03200168 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=McConkie |first1=G.W |last2=Rayner |first2=K |title=The span of the effective stimulus during a fixation in reading |journal=Perception & Psychophysics |date=1975 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=578–86|doi=10.3758/BF03203972 |doi-access=free }} observers can see the scene only through a central hole, giving the sensation of seeing through a telescope.

Therefore, the gaze-contingent technique is a powerful method to control for the visual information feeding the visual system and to isolate information use.

The gaze-contingent technique is the basis of various experimental paradigms, each of them allowing to investigate specific cognitive processes.

In the moving window paradigm{{cite journal |last1=Reder |first1=S.M. |title=On-line monitoring of eye position signals in contingent and noncontingent paradigms |journal=Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation |date=1973 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=218–28|doi=10.3758/BF03200168 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=McConkie |first1=G.W |last2=Rayner |first2=K |title=The span of the effective stimulus during a fixation in reading |journal=Perception & Psychophysics |date=1975 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=578–86|doi=10.3758/BF03203972 |doi-access=free }} only the part of the visual field around the gaze location (foveal information) is displayed normally, the surrounding part of the visual field (extrafoveal and peripheral information) being altered (removed for visual scenes or replaced by chains of X in reading).

The moving mask paradigm{{cite journal |last1=Rayner |first1=K |last2=Bertera |first2=JH |title=Reading without a fovea |journal=Science |volume=206 |date=1979 |issue=4417 |pages=468–469|bibcode=1979Sci...206..468R |doi=10.1126/science.504987 |pmid=504987 }} is a reverse technique in comparison with the moving window paradigm. It dynamically obscures central vision (or replaces letters with X in reading), permitting only extrafoveal information use.

In the boundary paradigm,{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(75)90005-5|title=The perceptual span and peripheral cues in reading|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=7|pages=65–81|year=1975|last1=Rayner|first1=Keith|s2cid=54366006}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(85)90013-1|title=The interaction of contextual constraints and parafoveal visual information in reading|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=17|issue=3|pages=364–390|year=1985|last1=Balota|first1=David A|last2=Pollatsek|first2=Alexander|last3=Rayner|first3=Keith|pmid=4053565|s2cid=8237394}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/S0093-934X(03)00442-5|pmid=15172547|title=Phonological codes are assembled before word fixation: Evidence from boundary paradigm in sentence reading|journal=Brain and Language|volume=90|issue=1–3|pages=299–310|year=2004|last1=Miellet|first1=Sébastien|last2=Sparrow|first2=Laurent|citeseerx=10.1.1.608.3108|s2cid=9708305}} an extrafoveal prime (a homophone in reading for example) is replaced by the target stimulus when the eyes cross an invisible boundary around the target area. In a related technique, the display can be updated when the gaze moves at a speed higher than a specified velocity threshold, ensuring that the display updates during a saccade.{{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=A |last2=Heller |first2=D. |last3=Pynte |first3=J. |last4=Radach |first4=Ralph |title=Reading as a Perceptual Process |url=https://archive.org/details/readingaspercept00kenn |url-access=limited |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=9780080436425 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/readingaspercept00kenn/page/n137 119]–145 |edition=1st|year=2000 }}{{cite journal |last1=Alexander |first1=R. G. |last2=Schmidt |first2=J. |last3=Zelinsky |first3=G. J. |title=Are summary statistics enough? Evidence for the importance of shape in guiding visual search |journal=Visual Cognition |date=2014 |volume=22 |issue=3–4 |pages=595–609|pmid=26180505 |pmc=4500174 |doi=10.1080/13506285.2014.890989 }} This velocity thresholding technique is used to prevent the observer from noticing the changes made to the display, because saccadic suppression blocks visual processing during saccades.{{cite journal |last1=Bridgeman |first1=G. |last2=Hendry |first2=D. |last3=Stark |first3=L. |title=Failure to detect displacement of visual world during saccadic eye movements |journal=Vision Research |date=1975 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=719–722 |doi=10.1016/0042-6989(75)90290-4 |pmid=1138489|s2cid=11541038 }}

The parafoveal magnification paradigm{{cite journal |last1=Miellet |first1=S |last2=O'Donnell |first2=PJ |last3=Sereno |first3=SC |title=Parafoveal Magnification: Visual Acuity Does Not Modulate the Perceptual Span in Reading |journal=Psychological Science |date=2009 |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=721–728|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02364.x |pmid=19470124 |s2cid=8476978 }} compensates for how visual acuity drops off as a function of retinal eccentricity. On each fixation and in real time, parafoveal text is magnified to equalize its perceptual impact with that of concurrent foveal text.

File:Parafoveal magnification paradigm.jpg

In the language domain, this method has been successfully used in natural reading. The study of eye movements in reading allowed researchers to map out the perceptual span (moving window paradigm{{cite journal |last1=Reder |first1=S.M. |title=On-line monitoring of eye position signals in contingent and noncontingent paradigms |journal=Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation |date=1973 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=218–28|doi=10.3758/BF03200168 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=McConkie |first1=G.W |last2=Rayner |first2=K |title=The span of the effective stimulus during a fixation in reading |journal=Perception & Psychophysics |date=1975 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=578–86|doi=10.3758/BF03203972 |doi-access=free }}), the nature of the extrafoveal information extracted during a fixation, for instance orthographic and phonological information (boundary paradigm){{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(75)90005-5|title=The perceptual span and peripheral cues in reading|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=7|pages=65–81|year=1975|last1=Rayner|first1=Keith|s2cid=54366006}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0010-0285(85)90013-1|title=The interaction of contextual constraints and parafoveal visual information in reading|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=17|issue=3|pages=364–390|year=1985|last1=Balota|first1=David A|last2=Pollatsek|first2=Alexander|last3=Rayner|first3=Keith|pmid=4053565|s2cid=8237394}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/S0093-934X(03)00442-5|pmid=15172547|title=Phonological codes are assembled before word fixation: Evidence from boundary paradigm in sentence reading|journal=Brain and Language|volume=90|issue=1–3|pages=299–310|year=2004|last1=Miellet|first1=Sébastien|last2=Sparrow|first2=Laurent|citeseerx=10.1.1.608.3108|s2cid=9708305}} or the relative influence of attention versus visual acuity drop-off in the perceptual span (parafoveal magnification paradigm{{cite journal |last1=Miellet |first1=S |last2=O'Donnell |first2=PJ |last3=Sereno |first3=SC |title=Parafoveal Magnification: Visual Acuity Does Not Modulate the Perceptual Span in Reading |journal=Psychological Science |date=2009 |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=721–728|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02364.x |pmid=19470124 |s2cid=8476978 }}).

Gaze-contingent techniques can also be used to ensure compliance with other aspects of a task. For example, some researchers have required that observers look at a specific location and press a button before the task begins,{{cite journal|doi=10.1167/11.8.9|pmc=8409006|pmid=21757505|title=Visual similarity effects in categorical search|journal=Journal of Vision|volume=11|issue=8|pages=9|year=2011|last1=Alexander|first1=R. G|last2=Zelinsky|first2=G. J|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0148253|pmid=26849447|pmc=4744017|title=Differences in Looking at Own- and Other-Race Faces Are Subtle and Analysis-Dependent: An Account of Discrepant Reports|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=11|issue=2|pages=e0148253|year=2016|last1=Arizpe|first1=Joseph|last2=Kravitz|first2=Dwight J|last3=Walsh|first3=Vincent|last4=Yovel|first4=Galit|last5=Baker|first5=Chris I|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1148253A|doi-access=free}} and others have made the entire task display disappear whenever the observers look away from a specific task-relevant area.{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.12.015|pmid=25583563|title=Measuring inhibitory processes for alcohol-related attentional biases: Introducing a novel attentional bias measure|journal=Addictive Behaviors|volume=44|pages=88–93|year=2015|last1=Wilcockson|first1=T.D.W|last2=Pothos|first2=E.M|url=http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/6056/1/Measuring_inhibitory_procs_MS_vSubmit_YPYW_AB_v2.pdf}}

The gaze-contingent technique has been adapted in other tasks than reading. The moving window paradigm has been used to study the effect of culture in face recognition for example.{{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0009708|pmid=20305776|pmc=2841167|title=Putting Culture Under the 'Spotlight' Reveals Universal Information Use for Face Recognition|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=5|issue=3|pages=e9708|year=2010|last1=Caldara|first1=Roberto|last2=Zhou|first2=Xinyue|last3=Miellet|first3=Sébastien|bibcode=2010PLoSO...5.9708C|doi-access=free}} The moving mask paradigm has been used in visual learning {{cite journal|doi=10.1037/1196-1961.62.1.1|pmid=18473624|title=Stable individual differences across images in human saccadic eye movements|journal=Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology|volume=62|issue=1|pages=1–14|year=2008|last1=Castelhano|first1=Monica S|last2=Henderson|first2=John M|s2cid=915709}} or visual search of animals in natural visual scenes.{{cite journal|doi=10.1167/10.6.21|pmid=20884570|title=Investigating cultural diversity for extrafoveal information use in visual scenes|journal=Journal of Vision|volume=10|issue=6|pages=21|year=2010|last1=Miellet|first1=S|last2=Zhou|first2=X|last3=He|first3=L|last4=Rodger|first4=H|last5=Caldara|first5=R|doi-access=free}}

The various gaze-contingent techniques has given eye-movement researchers the ability to observe the processing of visual input in much greater detail (particularly its temporal characteristics), the perceptual span, and the nature of central versus peripheral processing in reading.

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• Eye movement
• Eye tracking
• Eye movement in language reading
• Eye movement in music reading
• Foveated imaging
• Attention

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{{Reflist}}

Category:Eye

Category:Visual perception