TASK DEPENDENT GAZE DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS DURING EMOTION PERCEPTION IN NATURALISTIC FACE IMAGES

Neural processing of emotional face stimuli requires attention (Pessoa et al., 2002). The present study investigated how task demands influence visual attention during emotion perception. Specifically, we examined whether eye movement patterns differ when individuals identify emotions compared to when they judge emotional strength or positivity. Previous research has shown that during free viewing of faces, observers adopt a consistent viewing strategy, often focusing on the central and upper eye regions (Hsiao et al., 2008). The present study extends this work by examining how these strategies change under different task demands.

Participants viewed facial expressions while their eye movements were recorded using an eye-tracking system. They performed three tasks: (1) a categorization task, in which they categorized the emotion displayed; (2) an arousal rating task, in which they rated their experience from relaxed to energetic using a 9-point Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) scale; and (3) a valence rating task, in which they rated the positivity or negativity of the emotion on the same scale. Fixation patterns and gaze distribution across facial regions of interest (eyes, nose, and mouth) were analyzed. Task order was identical for all participants.

Results revealed clear task dependent differences in visual attention. During the categorization task, gaze was concentrated around the eye region, whereas during arousal and valence judgments, gaze was more widely distributed across the face. These findings demonstrate that attention mechanisms guiding eye movements depend strongly on task demands. Emotion categorization relies on a central facial strategy, whereas evaluative judgments engage more holistic face processing.