Through the eyes to memory: Fixation durations as an early indirect index of concealed knowledge

Schwedes, Charlotte; Wentura, Dirk

doi:10.3758/s13421-016-0630-y

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Accordingly, the conclusion that markers of recognition for personal familiarity are robust to intentional deception warrants further attention. In other studies, longer fixation durations indexed lies about recognition within 250–500 ms during a face–scene associative memory task (Mahoney, Kapur, Osmon, & Hannula, 2018) and the second fixation during lies in response to six-face displays comprising one familiar face presented among five unfamiliar faces (Schwedes & Wentura, 2012; see also Schwedes & Wentura, 2016). The early onset of increased fixation durations during recognition suggests that such markers of recognition may be particularly difficult to control; a promising feature for potential markers of recognition during deceit.…”

Section: Using Eye Tracking To Detect Familiar Face Recognitionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Eye see through you! Eye tracking unmasks concealed face recognition despite countermeasures

Millen

Hancock

2019

Cogn. Research

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Background Criminal associates such as terrorist members are likely to deny knowing members of their network when questioned by police. Eye tracking research suggests that lies about familiar faces can be detected by distinct markers of recognition (e.g. fewer fixations and longer fixation durations) across multiple eye fixation parameters. However, the effect of explicit eye movement strategies to concealed recognition on such markers has not been examined. Our aim was to assess the impact of fixed-sequence eye movement strategies (across the forehead, ears, eyes, nose, mouth and chin) on markers of familiar face recognition. Participants were assigned to one of two groups: a standard guilty group who were simply instructed to conceal knowledge but with no specific instructions on how to do so; and a countermeasures group who were instructed to look at every familiar and unfamiliar face in the same way by executing a consistent sequence of fixations. Results In the standard guilty group, lies about recognition of familiar faces showed longer average fixation durations, a lower proportion of fixations to the inner face regions, and proportionately more viewing of the eyes than honest responses to genuinely unknown faces. In the countermeasures condition, familiar face recognition was detected by longer fixations durations, fewer fixations to the inner regions of the face, and fewer interest areas of the face viewed. Longer fixation durations were a consistent marker of recognition across both conditions for most participants; differences were detectable from the first fixation. Conclusion The results suggest that individuals can exert a degree of executive control over fixation patterns but that: the eyes are particularly attention-grabbing for familiar faces; the more viewers look around the face, the more they give themselves away; and attempts to deploy the same fixation patterns to familiar and unfamiliar faces were unsuccessful. The results suggest that the best strategy for concealing recognition might be to keep the eyes fixated in the centre of the screen but, even then, recognition is apparent in longer fixation durations. We discuss potential optimal conditions for detecting concealed knowledge of faces. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s41235-019-0169-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Using Eye Tracking To Detect Familiar Face Recognitionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Eye see through you! Eye tracking unmasks concealed face recognition despite countermeasures

Millen

Hancock

2019

Cogn. Research

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“…Evidence of memory as expressed through eye movements has a number of applications, spanning issues related to law enforcement (e.g., detection of concealed knowledge), evaluation of expertise, and development of medical training protocols . Here, we focus on two issues related to the function of the hippocampal memory system: (1) detection of neurodegeneration, such as in cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease, and (2) cognitive therapies for the treatment of mental health disorders, specifically, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).…”

Section: Applications Of Research Linking Memory To Visual Explorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The intersection between the oculomotor and hippocampal memory systems: empirical developments and clinical implications

Ryan

Shen

Liu

2019

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Decades of cognitive neuroscience research has shown that where we look is intimately connected to what we remember. In this article, we review findings from human and nonhuman animals, using behavioral, neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and computational modeling methods, to show that the oculomotor and hippocampal memory systems interact in a reciprocal manner, on a moment‐to‐moment basis, mediated by a vast structural and functional network. Visual exploration serves to efficiently gather information from the environment for the purpose of creating new memories, updating existing memories, and reconstructing the rich, vivid details from memory. Conversely, memory increases the efficiency of visual exploration. We call for models of oculomotor control to consider the influence of the hippocampal memory system on the cognitive control of eye movements, and for models of hippocampal and broader medial temporal lobe function to consider the influence of the oculomotor system on the development and expression of memory. We describe eye movement–based applications for the detection of neurodegeneration and delivery of therapeutic interventions for mental health disorders for which the hippocampus is implicated and memory dysfunctions are at the forefront.

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“…While physiological measures necessitate a serial presentation where each display consists of a single stimulus, eye tracking opens the field of memory detection to new possibilities by enabling a multiple-item presentation. Although some eye-tracking CIT studies used the traditional serial presentation (Millen, Hope, Hillstrom, & Vrij, 2017; Peth, Kim, & Gamer, 2013; Peth, Suchotzki, & Gamer, 2016), a handful of other studies utilized a parallel display (Schwedes & Wentura, 2012, 2016). For example, in the study of Schwedes and Wentura (2012) participants were initially familiarized with several faces, some were introduced as friends and some as foes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting concealed familiarity using eye movements: the role of task demands

et al. 2019

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Background What can theories regarding memory-related gaze preference contribute to the field of deception detection? While abundant research has examined the ability to detect concealed information through physiological responses, only recently has the scientific community started to explore how eye tracking can be utilized for that purpose. However, previous attempts to detect deception through eye movements have led to relatively low detection ability in comparison to physiological measures. In the current study, we demonstrate that the modulation of gaze behavior by familiarity, changes considerably when participants perform a visual detection task in comparison to a short-term memory task (that was used in a previous study). Thus, we highlight the importance of theory-based selection of task demands for improving the ability to detect concealed information using eye-movement measures. Results During visual exploration of four faces (some familiar and some unfamiliar) gaze was allocated preferably on familiar faces, manifested by more fixations. However, this preference tendency vanished once participants were instructed to convey countermeasures and conceal their familiarity by deploying gaze equally to all faces. This gaze behavior during the visual detection task differed significantly from the one observed during a short-term memory task used in a previous study in which a preference towards unfamiliar faces was evident even when countermeasures were applied. Conclusions Different tasks elicit different patterns of gaze behavior towards familiar and unfamiliar faces. Moreover, the ability to voluntarily control gaze behavior is tightly related to task demands. Adequate ability to control gaze was observed in the current visual detection task when memorizing the faces was not required for a successful accomplishment of the task. Thus, applied settings would benefit from a short-term memory task which is much more robust to countermeasure efforts. Beyond shedding light on theories of gaze preference, these findings provide a backbone for future research in the field of deception detection via eye movements. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s41235-019-0162-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Through the eyes to memory: Fixation durations as an early indirect index of concealed knowledge

Cited by 30 publications

References 30 publications

Eye see through you! Eye tracking unmasks concealed face recognition despite countermeasures

Eye see through you! Eye tracking unmasks concealed face recognition despite countermeasures

The intersection between the oculomotor and hippocampal memory systems: empirical developments and clinical implications

Detecting concealed familiarity using eye movements: the role of task demands

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