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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 26, 2026

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

Eye Behavior Associated with Internally versus Externally Directed Cognition.

Mathias Benedek¹, Robert Stoiser¹, Sonja Walcher¹

¹Institute of Psychology, University of GrazGraz, Austria.

Frontiers in Psychology

|July 18, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

When focusing internally for tasks like imagination, our eyes disengage from the external world. This internally directed cognition (IDC) involves distinct eye movements, unlike externally directed cognition (EDC).

Keywords:

eye-tracking goal-directed cognition internal attention

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
Psychology

Background:

Mind wandering research indicates shifts from external to internal attention involve oculomotor changes.
Spontaneous shifts suggest a potential decoupling of visual attention from external stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate distinct eye behaviors during goal-directed internally directed cognition (IDC) versus externally directed cognition (EDC).
Understand how eye movements facilitate or reflect internal focus.

Main Methods:

Manipulated attentional focus (internal vs. external) during demanding cognitive tasks (anagrams, sentence generation).
Recorded and analyzed oculomotor parameters including fixations, blinks, microsaccades, pupil diameter, and eye vergence.

Main Results:

Internally directed cognition (IDC) showed fewer, longer fixations and higher pupil diameter/vergence variability compared to externally directed cognition (EDC).
IDC was linked to longer blinks, reduced microsaccade frequency, and decreased vergence angle, suggesting visual input attenuation.
These eye behavior changes support shielding internal cognitive processes from external distractions.

Conclusions:

Internally directed cognition (IDC) is characterized by specific eye behaviors.
These oculomotor changes reflect a decoupling of attention from external events.
Eye behavior serves to gate out visual input, supporting internal cognitive processes.