Eye-Tracking

Investigating attention and cognitive processes

Eye-Tracking is a method that registers and records one's eye movements while watching video sequences or pictures. Therefore, not only the location of fixations, but also the duration will be assessed. This means that it will be registered when, where, and for how long one is looking at a certain area on the screen. Based on those data, it is possible to draw conclusions on mental processes underlying the processing of the demonstrated material. For instance, it is possible to see whether one looks at a picture corresponding to a certain word, or whether infants are able to anticipate an action's goal by looking there.  We record your infant's eye movement while demonstrating pictures or short video sequences, and playing words or sentences, for example.  The eye-tracker is like a small black bar fixed at the lower end of the monitor; it basically looks like a normal monitor. The eye-tracker uses infrared light that is reflected in the pupil to measure the eye movement. This means that your infant is not connected to any device and does not even notice the measurement. Also, infrared light is totally harmless.