Webcams as Windows to the Mind? A Direct Comparison Between In-Lab and Web-Based Eye-Tracking Methods.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral research
• Human-computer interaction
• Psycholinguistics

Background:

• Growing interest in internet-based eye-tracking experiments using webcams.
• Need to assess performance of webcam-based techniques against traditional methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate manual eye-tracking and WebGazer algorithm for behavioral research.
• Compare webcam methods to infrared eye-tracking in lab and web settings.

Main Methods:

• Compared manual eye-tracking and WebGazer to infrared eye-tracking.
• Used five tasks (fixation and visual world) in lab and web experiments.
• Collected simultaneous data from different eye-tracking methods.

Main Results:

• Manual eye-tracking detected both large and small effects, similar to infrared.
• WebGazer showed reduced accuracy for short, subtle effects.
• No significant difference in performance based on lab vs. web setting.

Conclusions:

• Webcam-based eye-tracking methods suit different analytical needs.
• Manual annotation is more sensitive to subtle effects than WebGazer.
• Guidance is offered for researchers conducting online eye-tracking studies.