With the rise of the use of eye tracking in fields such as medical and psychological research, marketing research, and human-computer interaction studies, skepticism and conspiracy theories about the study method are unavoidable. So let’s deconstruct some of these myths and theories.
1. Eye tracking gear does more than track eyes
To dispel this myth, we need to understand the definition of eye tracking. Eye tracking is simply studying and recording eye movements based on visual stimuli. Therefore, eye tracking focuses on nothing else but the movement of the eyes and sometimes pupil dilation. Eye tracking equipment cannot access a participant’s brain activity, body language, heart palpitations, or bradycardia. The most common information extracted from these studies pertains to fixation, gaze point, pupil position, and dilation. This information can either be used to find out more about the participants’ reactions to the stimuli (a study about the users) or to implement changes to the stimuli based on participants’ feedback (product management).
2. Online eye trackers can access all the data on your computer
False. Online eye trackers, such as METRIC, are only designed to conduct the study in the browser through which they were accessed. Of course, as a cautious and aware internet user, it is always a good idea to read the terms and conditions and check the cookie settings (if available) of any website you are visiting. It is also a good idea to pay close attention to pop-ups, ads (do they look sketchy), glitches, sites that ask for excessive personal information or permissions to access your computer, and to do some background checks or verification on sites you are unfamiliar with or that feel suspicious to you. Many sites will only have access to the information you provide. Also, remember that not anyone can do eye-tracking studies just because they have access to the equipment or a site, so if you are signing up as a participant, ensure you fully understand the project and the company conducting it.
3. The infrared light will damage your eyes and blind you
It is generally advised to protect your eyes from excessive light. However, the amount of infrared light needed to cause severe or permanent damage to the eyes is far higher than that used in eye tracking. It is also important to know that infrared eye tracking differs from webcam eye tracking. Therefore, if a participant has extreme levels of photosensitivity or a general phobia of damaging their eyes, the latter would be a more suitable option.
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Read more research about eye tracking!
Azem, J. Y., Salminen, J., Jung, S.G., and Jansen, B. J. (2023) Measuring Engagement Through Remote Interactions of Customers: Introducing METRIC, 2023 International Symposium on Networks, Computers and Communications (ISNCC), Doha, Qatar, 2023, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/ISNCC58260.2023.10323669.
Salminen, J., Nielsen, L., An, J., Jung, S.G., Kwak, H., and Jansen, B. J. (2018) Is More Better?: Impact of Multiple Photos on Perception of Persona Profiles. ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI2018), Montréal, Canada, 21-26 April, Paper No. 317.