Assessing the allocation of attention during visual search using digit-tracking, a calibration-free alternative to eye tracking

Abstract

Digit-tracking, a simple, calibration-free technique, has proven to be a good alternative to eye tracking in vision science. Participants view stimuli superimposed by Gaussian blur on a touchscreen interface and slide a finger across the display to locally sharpen an area the size of the foveal region just at the finger's position. Finger movements are recorded as an indicator of eye movements and attentional focus. Because of its simplicity and portability, this system has many potential applications in basic and applied research. Here we used digit-tracking to investigate visual search and replicated several known effects observed using different types of search arrays. Exploration patterns measured with digit-tracking during visual search of natural scenes were comparable to those previously reported for eye-tracking and constrained by similar saliency. Therefore, our results provide further evidence for the validity and relevance of digit-tracking for basic and applied research on vision and attention.

Attentional, emotional, and behavioral response toward spiders, scorpions, crabs, and snakes provides no evidence for generalized fear between spiders and scorpions

“…An eye-tracking method is often combined with measuring reaction time by pressing a key or touching a screen 50 – 55 . The advantage of using parameters like reaction time is that it contains not only the aspect of exogenous attention but also behavioral adaptation and coping with potential threats that may present a distractor image, especially for people with a high level of specific fear of spiders 36 , 56 – 61 .…”

Tool to assess recognition and understanding of elements in Summary of Findings Table for health evidence synthesis: a cross-sectional study

“…There are different theories about how humans focus their attention in large visual field 6 , such as over 50 table cells in an SoF table. The interaction of the reader and the table in a cognitive task of looking for an answer to a knowledge question can be tested in different ways and tools, including eye tracking and hand/finger tracking 7 . These tools have the limitation that they are only a proxy for cognitive attention, as the movements of the eyes or fingers many not correlate with the cognitive processes (mind wondering) or may be influenced by the presentation of the visual stimuli 8 .…”