Eye Movements During Scene Viewing: An Overview

Publisher Summary Vision is a dynamic process in which representations are built up over time from multiple eye fixations. The study of eye movement patterns during scene viewing contributes to an understanding of how information in the visual environment is dynamically acquired and represented. The interaction among vision, cognition, and eye movement control can be seen as a scientifically tractable testing ground for theories of the interaction between input, central, and output systems. The chapter focuses on static scenes. Eye movement behavior during scene viewing is divided into two relatively discrete temporal phases, fixations, or periods of time when the point of regard is relatively still, and saccades, or periods of time when the eyes are rotating at a relatively rapid rate to reorient the point of regard from one spatial position to another. Useful pattern information is acquired during the fixations, with less useful pattern information derived during the saccades due to a combination of visual masking and central suppression. It is vital exactly where the fixation position tends to be centered and how long the position tends to remain centered at a particular location in a scene.