Eye Fixation and Recall of Pictures as a Function of GSR Responsivity

Abstract

Our aim was to construct an experimental situation with which we could explore relationships between the looking behavior of the eye and recall of pictures differing in threatening content. Seventeen Ss individually were shown 10 pictures for 10 sec. each with concurrent eye fixation photography (Mackworth eye camera) and GSR recording. The main analysis consisted of breaking high and low GSR “Peak” (i.e., the high point of GSR deflection during the ten seconds of looking) against “mean duration of each fixation,” inspection time of “ground” of each picture (rather than “figure”), recall duration, instances of forgetting the picture, and postponement in recall order. Significant differences were found in most of these measures in a direction which seemed consistent with a concept of avoidance—under conditions of high GSR responsivity more than under low GSR responsivity, Ss tended to show avoidance tendencies in both looking and recalling behavior.