Modeling Search in Web Environment: The Analysis of Eye Movement Measures and Patterns

Abstract

In the current study we analyzed several factors and their interaction on the speed and spatial organization of visual search in a modeled graphical interface environment. The participants had to find the target stimulus in a 9 × 9 matrix with 81 images, commonly used in web design. Search time and eye movement data were recorded. In addition to traditional measures we analyzed intersaccadic angles and saccade directions. The stimuli were either black and white, or colored (the Chromaticity factor). The Chromaticity factor did not exert direct influence on the search time, and there was little effect of chromaticity on eye movement characteristics, apart from fixation count in the area of target words. The target could be presented either as an image or as a word (the Target template factor). The Target template factor exerted significant influence on search time, fixation duration and on saccadic amplitude and velocity. Moreover, we identified sequential and non-sequential visual search patterns, based on the combination of intersaccadic angle and saccade direction measures, which proved to differ in subjects with high and low impulsivity.