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Predicting food choices based on eye-tracking data: Comparisons between real-life and virtual tasks
Mei Peng1, Hannah Browne1, Jimmy Cahayadi1
1Sensory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Food Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Appetite
|June 25, 2021
Summary
Virtual eye-tracking for food choice studies shows minor visual preference differences but inconsistent links to actual food selections compared to real-life settings. Environmental variation impacts data interpretation.
Area of Science:
- Consumer behavior research
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Human-computer interaction
Background:
- Eye-tracking is vital for understanding consumer food choices.
- Ecological validity of virtual eye-tracking requires examination.
- Comparing real-life and virtual food choice tasks is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To cross-examine eye-tracking data from real-life versus virtual food choice tasks.
- To assess food attention biases and their relationship to food choices across settings.
- To evaluate the ecological validity of virtual eye-tracking in consumer research.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-two healthy females participated in two sessions (virtual and real-life).
- Participants viewed eight snack food items and selected three for consumption.
- Mobile eye-trackers were used, and summed dwell time was analyzed.
Main Results:
- Minor differences in visual preferences were observed between real-life and virtual settings.
- Virtual settings showed selected foods were viewed longer (p < 0.05).
- Dwell time inadequately captured real-life cognitive processes; differences between selected/unselected foods were non-significant in real-life.
Conclusions:
- Eye-tracking data from virtual and real-life settings show inconsistent relationships with food choices.
- Virtual eye-tracking may not fully reflect complex cognitive processes in real-world food selection.
- Environmental variations are critical when interpreting eye-tracking data for food cues in consumer studies.
