ABSTRACT
The compromise approach allows us to consider the possibility that eye movements may themselves be the object of a cognitive activity and not simply the external sign of such activity. This might be especially true during the initial phases of adaptation to a disruption in ordinary oculomotor functioniong. Eye movements were recorded using a version of the “bright pupil” technique. A computer program analyzed the previously digitized video signal to determine the locus of gaze, control the stimulus presentations, and store the parameters of oculomotor activity—time, center of pupil, center of corneal reflection—for further off-line analyses. Despite the small subject numbers and relatively weak differences on both parameters, it may be seen that the small amplitudes and higher fixation durations go together—in the contingent condition for the “off” part of the field. These findings agree with hypotheses in as much as they suggest surprise or waiting states following the sudden disappearance of the stimulus.
