Eye tracking

An eye tracking system enables us to gauge how children process behaviour they are exposed to and which cognitive processes form the basis of any developments. The eye tracker emits infrared light, which is reflected by the surface of the eye (cornea). This reflection is recorded using a special camera. In our system, the infrared light sources and camera are built into our presentation screen.

We use eye tracking to measure the extent to which children are capable of using their eyes to understand the aim of an action they observe or the course of a spoken sentence. We are interested here in what we call anticipation, so whether they look at whatever is about to happen or be mentioned. In studies like these we show your child short videos with simple actions or videos where language is used. Your child will either sit on your lap or in a highchair, and will have a small sticker on his or her forehead. This means your child is free to move around while the eye tracker records how his or her eyes move.