Pupillometry system for use in social psychology

Abstract

It is now relatively easy to implement pupillometry in social psychological research. We describe a system in which a Macintosh computer presents visual and auditory stimuli to subjects while monitoring an infrared pupillometer. The computer records information on subject, task, and pupil diameter into a data file for input into standard statistical analysis programs. Pupil diameter is measured continuously while subjects respond to stimuli that last for several seconds or minutes. A demonstration experiment verifies the usefulness of the system. The ability of the Macintosh computer to easily handle visual and auditory stimuli and to record responses lasting a considerable length of time makes the system well suited for studying pupil responses to complex social stimuli. This system is also well suited for the researcher initiating a research program using pupillometry. Ease of operation makes using a large number of subjects feasible.

Pupillary responses to emotionally provocative stimuli

“…In some earlier studies, the variation has been smaller. For example, in [2] the range varied approximately from one to five percent of the baseline value, while the subjects viewed peaceful and fighting pictures.…”

“…For the timeline analysis, blinks were replaced according to [2] with the last valid pupil diameter measure before the blink. Second, for the statistical analyses the pupil data was categorized according to the auditory stimulus categories.…”

Perceived Time as a Measure of Mental Workload: Effects of Time Constraints and Task Success

“…A calibration process, repeated for each block of tasks, ensured that the eye tracker accurately captured the participant's pupil. As in previous studies (e.g., Bailey & Iqbal, 2008;Bernhardt, Dabbs, & Riad, 1996), the changes in pupil diameter were calculated by converting the pupil-diameter measurements to percentages of the participant mean. Hence, a value below 100% represents a constriction and a value above 100% represents a dilation of the pupil, relative to its average diameter across the 24 tasks.…”

Measuring Sexual Preferences in Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study

“…Blinking rate analysis and pupillometry represent very interesting tools for these tasks. 22,23 Eye-tracking devices integrated into an HMD should moreover help to better understand sexual preferences by giving a much more accurate measure of the POV dynamics while allowing a more natural interaction with the virtual stimuli.…”