An Eye-tracking Study of Information Sampling and Decision-making Under Stress

The objective of this study was to probe the cognitive processing of cockpit warning displays in emergency situations by assessing the effects of acute stress on information sampling and decision-making using eye tracking equipment. A novel image-matching computer task based on the Matching Familiar Figures Task (MFFT) was designed to provide a measure of cognitive impulsivity. The stress induction procedure involved a challenging manual response task coupled with unpredictable and uncontrollable bursts of loud, aversive noise, and a matched neutral control task. Healthy participants (n=40) completed the task under two conditions: neutral and stress. Participants under stress made more image matching errors and visually sampled less in terms of both saccade count and dwell time on the MFFT, and made a greater number of responses without having first sampled all information areas displayed on the screen at least once (‘premature closure’). The findings of this study may have useful implications for the design of visual information displays across a variety of industries, particularly aviation.

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