Features of Eye Movements and Systemic Organization of Behavior When Assessing Emotionally Charged Images

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify patterns of systemic organization of behavior, manifested in changes in oculographic activity in subjects in states characterized by varying degrees of emotionality. Differences in eye movement parameters in situations characterized by different emotional intensity and valence have been noted by many authors, but the nature of such differences remains controversial. From a systemic-evolutionary perspective, emotions are considered as a characteristic of the actualization of less differentiated systems. Based on this approach, it was hypothesized that when perceiving emotionally charged images, the characteristics of eye movements will differ from situations when perceiving neutral images, characterizing a decrease in the ability to highlight details in the image. 32 people took part in the study. Each participant was presented with 26 images, during the perception of which eye movements were recorded for a minute using an Eyegaze Analyzing System 120 Hz eye tracker. The study revealed differences in the indicators of oculographic activity when perceiving emotional images compared to neutral ones, indicating a decrease in the emphasis on image details. It is assumed that this effect is associated with processes of temporary systemic dedifferentiation, in which less differentiated systems characterized by higher emotionality are relatively more represented in the actualized experience.