Measuring Mental Effort in Visual Search Learning
Author Information
Author(s): Takeuchi Tatsuto, Puntous Théodore, Tuladhar Anup, Yoshimoto Sanae, Shirama Aya
Primary Institution: Japan Women's University
Hypothesis
Does mental effort linearly decrease as behavioral performance for the learned task increases in the course of training?
Conclusion
The study found that pupil size increased during the early phase of learning and decreased later, suggesting that mental effort and behavioral performance reflect different aspects of perceptual learning.
Supporting Evidence
- Pupil size increased rapidly in the early phase of training and decreased at the later phase.
- The average error rate for all subjects decreased from 8.2% on the first day to 1.6% on the last day.
- A one-way ANOVA showed the main effect of training day on pupil size was significant.
Takeaway
When people learn to find things visually, their eyes show how hard they're trying. At first, they work really hard, but as they get better, they still have to put in some effort.
Methodology
Subjects conducted a visual conjunction search task while their pupil size was measured using an infrared-video-based eye-tracking device.
Limitations
The study focused only on target-absent trials for pupil size analysis, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Participant Demographics
Twelve subjects participated, all of whom had normal or corrected-to-normal vision.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.0001
Statistical Significance
p<0.0001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website