The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements

In picture viewing, emotional vs. neutral stimuli could play a different role in eye movement parameters and in the spatial progression of the scanpath. The aim of this paper is to investigate exploratory behaviour of normal subjects during the vision of emotional vs. non-emotional stimuli, by consi...

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Main Authors: Elena Carniglia, Marcella Caputi, Valentina Manfredi, Daniela Zambarbieri, Eliano Pessa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2012-08-01
Series:Journal of Eye Movement Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2342
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author Elena Carniglia
Marcella Caputi
Valentina Manfredi
Daniela Zambarbieri
Eliano Pessa
author_facet Elena Carniglia
Marcella Caputi
Valentina Manfredi
Daniela Zambarbieri
Eliano Pessa
author_sort Elena Carniglia
collection DOAJ
description In picture viewing, emotional vs. neutral stimuli could play a different role in eye movement parameters and in the spatial progression of the scanpath. The aim of this paper is to investigate exploratory behaviour of normal subjects during the vision of emotional vs. non-emotional stimuli, by considering to what extent the thematic content (animate vs. inanimate) is likely to influence the observer’s eye movements. Sixty-five subjects’ eye movement patterns were measured while looking to emotional (pleasant and unpleasant) and neutral pictures depicting animate or inanimate contents. Results showed that the number of fixations and the gaze duration were greater for emotional pictures than for neutral ones, and animate pictures were fixated longer than inanimate ones. Both emotional and animate pictures may affect eye movements and constitute privileged stimuli of adaptive behavioural tendencies.
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publishDate 2012-08-01
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series Journal of Eye Movement Research
spelling doaj-art-dcf2071bd3ce4f10927a488f3710f0812025-08-20T02:21:37ZengMDPI AGJournal of Eye Movement Research1995-86922012-08-015410.16910/jemr.5.4.4The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movementsElena Carniglia0Marcella Caputi1Valentina Manfredi2Daniela Zambarbieri3Eliano Pessa4University of PaviaUniversity of PaviaUniversity of PaviaUniversity of PaviaUniversity of PaviaIn picture viewing, emotional vs. neutral stimuli could play a different role in eye movement parameters and in the spatial progression of the scanpath. The aim of this paper is to investigate exploratory behaviour of normal subjects during the vision of emotional vs. non-emotional stimuli, by considering to what extent the thematic content (animate vs. inanimate) is likely to influence the observer’s eye movements. Sixty-five subjects’ eye movement patterns were measured while looking to emotional (pleasant and unpleasant) and neutral pictures depicting animate or inanimate contents. Results showed that the number of fixations and the gaze duration were greater for emotional pictures than for neutral ones, and animate pictures were fixated longer than inanimate ones. Both emotional and animate pictures may affect eye movements and constitute privileged stimuli of adaptive behavioural tendencies.https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2342emotional picturesthematic contentanimate-inanimateeye movementsfixations
spellingShingle Elena Carniglia
Marcella Caputi
Valentina Manfredi
Daniela Zambarbieri
Eliano Pessa
The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
Journal of Eye Movement Research
emotional pictures
thematic content
animate-inanimate
eye movements
fixations
title The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
title_full The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
title_fullStr The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
title_full_unstemmed The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
title_short The influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
title_sort influence of emotional picture thematic content on exploratory eye movements
topic emotional pictures
thematic content
animate-inanimate
eye movements
fixations
url https://bop.unibe.ch/JEMR/article/view/2342
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