Increasing Pupil Size Is Associated with Increasing Cognitive Processing Demands: A Pilot Study Using a Mobile Eye-Tracking Device
Open accessAbstract
Previous studies have shown that increases in pupil size are correlated with increasing cognitive processing demands. Our aim was to confirm whether these findings could be replicated with new portable and less obtrusive eye-tracking technology. We assessed the percentage change of pupillary diameter from baseline as eight subjects completed a series of randomly ordered arithmetic problems of varying difficulty. The mean peak pupil diameter expressed as a percentage change from baseline was significantly greater when answering difficult questions compared to easier questions. Moreover, the time to reach peak pupillary diameter occurred significantly faster when participants answered easier questions compared to more difficult questions. Finally, there was a significant difference when all groups were compared to control. This experiment confirms findings of previous studies that show that pupillary size is related to cognitive processing demands. It also demonstrates that mobile eye-trackers can be used to reliably gather this type of data. Furthermore, this experiment provides the basis for future studies using eye-tracking technology in new environments, for example in the study of expertise and performance in medical crisis situations.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Szulewski et al. (2014) were able to replicate these findings using arithmetic questions with newer mobile eye-tracking technology.
“Szulewski et al. (2014) were able to replicate these findings using arithmetic questions with newer mobile eye-tracking technology.”
From Measuring physician cognitive load: validity evidence for a physiologic and a psychometric tool (2017) · cites this paper as Szulewski et al. 2014
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Task-evoked pupillary responses, processing load, and the structure of processing resources.
Beatty, J. (1982) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.91.2.276 · Cited by 1,959 · see citing works
Pupil Size in Relation to Mental Activity during Simple Problem-Solving
Hess, E. H., & Polt, J. M. (1964) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.143.3611.1190 · Cited by 1,169 · see citing works
Hess, E. H. (1965) · Scientific American · doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0465-46 · Cited by 515 · see citing works
Pupillary Responses During Information Processing Vary with Scholastic Aptitude Test Scores
Ahern, S., & Beatty, J. (1979) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.472746 · Cited by 398 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Measuring physician cognitive load: validity evidence for a physiologic and a psychometric tool
Szulewski, A., Gegenfurtner, A., Howes, D. W., Sivilotti, M. L. A., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2017) · Advances in Health Sciences Education · doi:10.1007/s10459-016-9725-2 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationSzulewski, A., Roth, N., & Howes, D. (2015) · Academic Medicine · doi:10.1097/acm.0000000000000677 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationTemporal analysis of multimodal data to predict collaborative learning outcomes
Olsen, J. K., Sharma, K., Rummel, N., & Aleven, V. (2020) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.12982 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Sharma, H., Drukker, L., Papageorghiou, A. T., & Noble, J. A. (2021) · Computers in Biology and Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104589 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Information flow and cognition affect each other: Evidence from digital learning
Sharma, K., Mangaroska, K., van Berkel, N., Giannakos, M. N., & Kostakos, V. (2020) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102549 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
PUPILLOMETRY AS A TOOL TO STUDY EXPERTISE IN MEDICINE
Szulewski, A., Kelton, D., & Howes, D. W. (2017) · Frontline Learning Research · doi:10.14786/flr.v5i3.256 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationVisual expertise and the Quiet Eye in sports – comment on Vickers
Gegenfurtner, A., & Szulewski, A. (2016) · Current Issues in Sport Science (CISS) · doi:10.15203/ciss_2016.108 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationEyes on cognition: Exploring oculomotor correlates of cognitive function in patients with epilepsy.
Mustafa, S. A.-H., Jansen, A., Steininger, M., Müllers, J., Surges, R., von Wrede, R., Krüger, B., & Helmstaedter, C. (2025) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2025.110562 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Towards an Understanding of Operator Focus Using Eye-Tracking in Safety-Critical Maritime Settings
Rolls-Royce Marine AS, N., Bjørneseth, F. B., Clarke, L., Dunlop, M., & Komandur, S. (2014) · RINA International Conference on Human Factors in Ship Design and Operation · doi:10.3940/rina.hf.2014.17 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Verification of Cognitive Load Theory with Psychophysiological Measures in Complex Problem-Solving
Jo, I., & Kim, J. (2019) · The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher · doi:10.1007/s40299-019-00495-9 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Feasibility and use of psychophysiological responses based on cognitive load theory
Kim, J., & Jo, I. (2018) · Australasian Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.14742/ajet.4163 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Peak performance: Simulation and the nature of expertise in emergency medicine
Hicks, C. M., & Petrosoniak, A. (2019) · Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.1017/cem.2018.490 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Modeling Driver Behavior and Aggressiveness Using Biobehavioral Methods – Phase II
Kondyli, A., Chrysikou, E. G., Ramey, C. H., & Kummetha, V. C. (2018) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Through the eyes of the physician
Szulewski (2019) · doi:10.26481/dis.20190620as
Rashid, A. M. S., Carmichael, B., Su, C., Shi, K., Lim, K., Poorvika, S. K., Wan, N. J., Govil, E., & Yap, D. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.09.01.609623
Durmaz, E., Hegner, S. M., Schilling, L., & Hirschfeld, G. H. F. (2024) · Crime & Delinquency · doi:10.1177/00111287241276533
- Authors
- Szulewski, A., Fernando, S. M., Baylis, J., & Howes, D.
- Affiliations
- Queen's University (CA)
- Venue
- Open Journal of Emergency Medicine
- Publisher
- Scientific Research Publishing, Inc.
- Published
- 2014
- Volume
- 02
- Issue
- 01
- Pages
- 8-11
- ISSN
- 2332-1806 (ISSN-L)
- 2332-1814
- OpenAlex
- W2084622816
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 3.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Open Journal of Emergency Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Gaze Tracking and Assistive Technology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Ophthalmology and Visual Health Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Human-Automation Interaction and Safety
- Keywords
- pupil size, mobile eye tracking, arithmetic performance, replication, emergency medicine
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
