Beyond self-reports: Leveraging visual perception and eye tracking to determine vocational interest

While several assessments, such as the F-I-T, already incorporate occupational images to determine individuals' vocational interest, they have been restricted to conscious evaluations. The present study delves deeper into the relationship between visual perception and vocational interests by examining eye movement behaviour while looking at images depicting various occupations. A sample of 67 German students, aged 16 to 19, were presented with two images depicting six distinct occupational activities. These stimuli were designed based on the Holland RIASEC model. Eye movements, including fixation count, dwell time, time to first fixation, and saccadic behaviour, were recorded and analysed. In addition, participants evaluated the images and completed AIST-3, a German career questionnaire. The findings indicate a significant correlation between dwell time, fixation count, and self-reported vocational interests. Additionally, saccade count emerged as a predictor of career decisiveness. This innovative approach to assessing vocational interests mitigates several biases inherent in traditional self-report measures.