School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, England.
J Sex Res. 2011 Sep;48(5):461-9. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2010.521899. Epub 2011 May 24.
The gaze pattern associated with image exploration is a sensitive index of our attention, motivation, and preference. To examine whether an individual's gaze behavior can reflect his or her sexual interest, this study compared gaze patterns of young heterosexual men and women (M = 19.94 years, SD = 1.05) while they viewed photographs of plain-clothed male and female figures aged from birth to 60 years old. The analysis revealed a clear gender difference in viewing sexually preferred figure images. Men displayed a distinctive gaze pattern only when viewing 20-year-old female images, with more fixations and longer viewing times dedicated to the upper body and waist-hip regions. Women also directed more attention at the upper body on female images in comparison to male images, but this difference was not age-specific. Analysis of local image salience revealed that observers' eye-scanning strategies could not be accounted for by low-level processes, such as analyzing local image contrast and structure, but were associated with attractiveness judgments. The results suggest that the difference in cognitive processing of sexually preferred and non-preferred figures can be manifested in gaze patterns associated with figure viewing. Thus, eye-tracking holds promise as a potential sensitive measure for sexual preference, particularly in men.
注视模式与图像探索有关，是我们注意力、动机和偏好的敏感指标。为了研究个体的注视行为是否能反映其性兴趣，本研究比较了年轻异性恋男性和女性（M=19.94 岁，SD=1.05）在观看从出生到 60 岁的穿着便服的男性和女性人物照片时的注视模式。分析显示，观看性偏好人物图像时存在明显的性别差异。男性只有在观看 20 岁女性图像时才表现出独特的注视模式，对上身和腰臀区域的注视次数更多，注视时间更长。与男性图像相比，女性对女性图像的上半身也更加关注，但这种差异与年龄无关。对局部图像显著性的分析表明，观察者的眼动扫描策略不能用低级过程（如分析局部图像对比度和结构）来解释，而是与吸引力判断有关。研究结果表明，对性偏好和非偏好人物的认知处理差异可以表现在与人物观看相关的注视模式中。因此，眼动追踪有望成为一种潜在的敏感的性偏好测量方法，特别是对男性。
