Low Cost Eye Tracking: Ready for Individual Differences Research?

Abstract

The recent availability of low cost of eye tracking hardware provides researchers a fruitful opportunity to collect additional human subject data for under $700. This current study sought to investigate whether low-cost eye tracking is capable of replicating a large effect showing a relationship between resting pupil size and working memory capacity. Seventy-nine Navy and Marine Corps student pilots participated in this study and granted access to their aviation selection test scores. The study demonstrated the capability of the Gazepoint GP3 system to detect the pupillary light reflex within every participant. However, in contrast to findings from other researchers, analyses revealed a negative correlation between resting pupil size and partial Operation Span scores and no correlation between resting pupil size and two cognitive components of the aviation selection test. These findings, in addition to other reasons discussed herein, suggest that the Gazepoint GP3 system’s millimeter pupil size measurements should not be used in isolation to compare values between individuals. They also suggest the need for further investigation of the relationship between baseline pupil size and working memory capacity.