Eye movements in viewing urban images and natural images in diverse vegetation periods

Abstract

The positive effect of viewing nature on cognitive function is explained in terms of perceptual fluency in the processing of nature scenes based on their fractal structure. The present study analyzed eye movements in viewing natural and urban scenes. Previous investigations found lower eye movement activity in viewing natural scenes compared to urban scenes. The first objective was to replicate previous findings from eye-tracking studies with a different set of images. The second objective was to analyze differences while viewing deciduous forest pictures in two vegetation periods. It was presumed that vegetation without foliage has a lower level of fractal complexity, which may result in differences in eye movements. Fifty-five undergraduates participated in the study. They viewed photographs of forests with foliage, forests without foliage, and urban scenes. Eye movements were recorded using a Tobii X2-60 eye tracker. The results revealed a significantly lower mean number of fixations in viewing natural scenes compared to urban scenes and a significantly lower mean number of fixations in viewing natural scenes with foliage compared to natural scenes without foliage. Moreover, natural scenes with foliage had significantly higher fractal dimensions than natural scenes without foliage and urban scenes. A lower number of fixations means a lower effort in processing visual information. Thus, the data showed a lower effort while observing natural scenes vs. urban scenes, as well as an association between eye movements and the fractal complexity of presented images. A higher fractal complexity was linked with lower eye movement activity. However, it is still unclear how the different visual complexity of vegetation with and without foliage can contribute to perceptual fluency in visual processing.