Abstract

Studies have suggested that participants are more likely to make eye movements that stay within the fixated object. When making economic decisions (for example, between a 50% chance of winning £100 and a 60% chance of winning £80), participants fixate the different attributes of the gambles, which may influence how the gambles are compared. Within gamble eye movements may lead to the evaluation of the expected value of the gamble, while between gamble eye movements may lead to comparisons of the amounts or the chance of winning. We here combine these two areas of research and examine whether borders around the attributes of gambles (1) influence participants’ eye movements and (2) influence participants’ decisions. Participants were presented with pairs of gambles and were asked for their preference while their eye movements were recorded. Half of the participants were presented with gambles with a border around the attributes, while the remaining participants saw the gambles without such borders. Analysis of the choices and eye movements did not reveal any differences between the two groups, suggesting that higher order tasks overrule the tendency for eye movements to stay within the same object, and that grouping of attributes does not
influence participants’ preferences.