How precise is gaze following in humans?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human-computer interaction

Background:

• Joint visual attention, facilitated by gaze following, is fundamental for social interaction and learning.
• Understanding how individuals interpret gaze cues is crucial for fields ranging from developmental psychology to artificial intelligence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the accuracy and precision of human gaze following.
• To investigate the impact of varying visual cues from the sender on the receiver's gaze following ability.
• To identify systematic biases in human gaze following.

Main Methods:

• Participants (receivers) identified target objects based on gaze cues from a sender (human or computer).
• Sender's target deviations were analyzed using a normal distribution model.
• Receiver's visual conditions (binocular vs. monocular) and sender's visible eye count were manipulated.

Main Results:

• Gaze following judgments were highly accurate, with deviations from the sender's target being normally distributed.
• Receiver's visual acuity (binocular vs. monocular) did not significantly affect gaze following accuracy.
• Performance decreased when only one of the sender's eyes was visible.
• Systematic biases, including upward and cardinal-axis bias, were observed.

Conclusions:

• Human gaze following is a precise and robust mechanism for establishing joint visual attention.
• The system demonstrates resilience to variations in sender cues, although reduced binocular information impacts performance.
• Identified biases offer insights into the underlying mechanisms of gaze perception and interpretation.