Comparing scanpaths during scene encoding and recognition: A multi-dimensional approach

Abstract

Complex stimuli and tasks elicit particular eye movement sequences. Previous research has focused on comparing between these scanpaths, particularly in memory and imagery research where it has been proposed that observers reproduce their eye movements when recognizing or imagining a stimulus. However, it is not clear whether scanpath similarity is related to memory performance and which particular aspects of the eye movements recur. We therefore compared eye movements in a picture memory task, using a recently proposed comparison method, MultiMatch, which quantifies scanpath similarity across multiple dimensions including shape and fixation duration. Scanpaths were more similar when the same participant’s eye movements were compared from two viewings of the same image than between different images or different participants viewing the same image. In addition, fixation durations were similar within a participant and this similarity was associated with memory performance.

Identifying Expert and Novice Visual Scanpath Patterns and Their Relationship to Assessing Learning-Relevant Student Characteristics

“…We were able to provide support for the original descriptions by Noton and Stark (1971a,b) by showing that a teacher's own scanpaths resembled each other more closely than when compared to those of other teachers (H1). This result ties in well with previous studies across diverse psychological research areas-for example, face recognition (Kanan et al, 2015), memory and imagery research (Foulsham et al, 2012), andrecently, teacher research (McIntyre andFoulsham, 2018). The results indicated that, in our experiment, teachers observed the authentic teaching video sequences in their own way; therefore, teachers seemed to be guided primarily by top-down (e.g., knowledge and schemata-driven gaze) rather than bottomup (eye-catching visual features, e.g., light-colored clothing) visual processes.…”

“…Experimental eye-tracking studies performed over the last decade have supported the Scanpath Theory. These studies found scanpaths to be repetitive and that an individual's scanpath pattern was idiosyncratic (Foulsham et al, 2012;Kanan et al, 2015;McIntyre and Foulsham, 2018; more similar within an individual than between individuals). This evidence supports the hypothesis that internal cognitive structures control not only eye-movements, but also the perception process itself.…”

Scanpath similarity measure reveals not only a decreased social preference, but also an increased nonsocial preference in individuals with autism

“…Scanpath similarity over different presentations of the same stimulus for the same observer has been confirmed by several studies (Foulsham et al, 2012;Foulsham & Underwood, 2008;Mannan, Wooding, & Ruddock, 1997) and to some extent can be attributed to genetic causes, given the significant degree of scanpath similarity in monozygotic and dizygotic twins (Kennedy et al, 2017). Therefore, scanpath similarity over repeated presentations of the same image, apart from the obvious bottom-up similarity stemming from the image repetition itself, reflects stable characteristics of the observer (Foulsham et al, 2012). This could be due to a general looking tendency, such as the image center bias in individuals with ASD (Wang et al, 2015), but also more complex viewing strategies, reflecting observer's goals and preferences.…”

“…Noton and Stark (1971) were the first to observe that scanpaths were individual to the viewer and to some extent stable between different viewings of the same image. Scanpath similarity over different presentations of the same stimulus for the same observer has been confirmed by several studies (Foulsham et al, 2012;Foulsham & Underwood, 2008;Mannan, Wooding, & Ruddock, 1997) and to some extent can be attributed to genetic causes, given the significant degree of scanpath similarity in monozygotic and dizygotic twins (Kennedy et al, 2017). Therefore, scanpath similarity over repeated presentations of the same image, apart from the obvious bottom-up similarity stemming from the image repetition itself, reflects stable characteristics of the observer (Foulsham et al, 2012).…”

“…To compare different scanpaths, we used the ScanMatch method (Cristino, Mathôt, Theeuwes, & Gilchrist, 2010), which has the advantage of being able to account for spatial, temporal, and sequential similarity between scanpaths. The technique is well suited to revealing within-individual idiosyncrasies, and particularly similarities between repeated viewings of an image by the same observer (Foulsham et al, 2012). It has been shown to be a remarkable improvement over the less sophisticated scanpath comparison methods (such as the "edit distance," or measures that only consider spatial similarities, e.g.…”