Fixation duration variability increases with mind wandering during scene viewing
Kevin O'Neill, Kristina Krasich, Felipe De Brigard, Duke University, United States; Samuel Murray, Providence College, United States; James Brockmole, University of Notre Dame, United States; Antje Nuthmann, Kiel University, Germany
Session:
Posters 3 Poster
Location:
Pacific Ballroom H-O
Presentation Time:
Sat, 27 Aug, 19:30 - 21:30 Pacific Time (UTC -8)
Abstract:
In scene viewing, both increased visual-cognitive processing demands and mind wandering have been associated with longer fixation durations. To better understand how the same behavioral phenomenon reflects seemingly incompatible states of visual-cognitive processing, we ran simulations using an established random-walk model for saccade timing and programming to assess which model parameters best predicted modulations in fixation durations associated with mind wandering compared to attentive viewing. Mind wandering-related fixation durations reflected an increase in the variability of the fixation-generating process. In contrast, past research showed that increased processing demands increased the mean duration of the fixation-generating process. Thus, we showed that mind wandering and increased visual-cognitive processing demands modulate fixation durations through different mechanisms.