Eye Tracking
Measuring where people look, which is expensive, frequently over-interpreted, and occasionally irreplaceable.
Definition
Eye tracking records gaze position over time, producing fixation data, scan paths and aggregate heat maps. It measures where attention landed, not what was understood.
Established research. Originates in published research and has been replicated. The effect is real. Its size in your product still needs measuring.
On this plate
Reach for this when
- Attention allocation is the specific question.
- Comparing dense layouts.
- Budget and equipment are available.
- The question is whether something was noticed, not whether it was understood.
Common mistakes
- Interpreting fixation as comprehension.
- Heat maps presented without the underlying task context.
- Confusing mouse heat maps with gaze data.
When it earns its cost
- Comparing attention across layout variants where the difference is subtle.
- Studying scanning behaviour on dense information displays.
- Diagnosing why a prominent element is being missed.
- Research into reading patterns and visual hierarchy, where it produced the well-known F-pattern findings.
What the measures mean
Heat maps photograph well and explain little. The per-element numbers underneath are what support a decision.
| Measure | Reading |
|---|---|
| Time to first fixation | How long an element took to be noticed at all |
| Fixation count | How much attention it drew, which may mean interest or confusion |
| Dwell time | Total attention, useful only against a comparable element |
| Fixation sequence | The order attention moved in, which is what reveals whether hierarchy is working |
| Percentage who looked at all | The plainest number in the study, and usually the persuasive one |
In practice
- i.
Proving an element was never seen
Where it beats askingParticipants who missed a disclosure will often say they read it. Eye tracking is one of the few methods that can show a region received no fixations at all, which matters when the region is a legal one.
Local chart
RES·017 · Region IV · Grid H2
This entry and the entries it is stated to connect with. Each line is labelled with what the connection means.
Sources
Where a source establishes something narrower than the popular reading of it, the note says so.
- [1]
Eyetracking Web Usability
J. Nielsen and K. Pernice, New Riders, 2010
The large-scale study behind most of the published web scanning patterns, including their limits.
Continue from here
Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.
Principles behind this
The reasoning this solution is an application of.
- Banner BlindnessPSY·003 · Psychology
- Selective AttentionPSY·004 · Psychology
Related concept
Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.
- First-Click TestingRES·007 · Research method
- Usability TestingRES·001 · Research method
- EmphasisFND·018 · UI foundation
- Visual HierarchyFND·001 · UI foundation