Eye-gaze strategies reveal cognitive variability in a real-world executive function task

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Factors

Background:

• Executive functioning is crucial for multitasking.
• Traditional assessments may not fully capture real-world multitasking strategies.
• Eye-tracking offers a novel method to study attentional processes during complex tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate individual differences in executive functioning during a real-world multitasking scenario.
• To identify distinct attentional strategies using eye-tracking data during the hotel task.
• To explore the relationship between these strategies and task performance.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-four young adults performed the hotel task while eye movements were recorded.
• Participants completed executive function assessments (BRIEF-A, antisaccade, Wiener Matrizen-Test 2).
• K-means clustering analyzed eye-tracking data to identify strategic profiles; Kruskal-Wallis test compared groups.

Main Results:

• Self-reported working memory deficits correlated with poorer planning (ρ = -.31, p = .035).
• Three distinct gaze-based profiles emerged: one less time-monitoring group performed worse.
• The less vigilant group attempted fewer tasks and had lower planning scores compared to others.

Conclusions:

• Eye-tracking successfully identified distinct multitasking strategies linked to performance.
• These strategies are not fully captured by traditional executive function tasks.
• Effective multitasking relies on diverse strategies, best understood through integrated data in ecologically valid settings.