Ronen HershmanUniversity of Innsbruck | UIBK · Institute of Psychology
Ronen Hershman
Ph.D
About
14
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170
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Citations since 2017
Publications
Publications (14)
Pupil dilation is an effective indicator of cognitive and affective processes. Although several eyetracker systems on the market can provide effective solutions for pupil dilation measurement, there is a lack of tools for processing and analyzing the data provided by these systems. For this reason, we developed CHAP: open-source software written in...
Pupillometry (or the measurement of pupil size) is commonly used as an index of cognitive load and arousal. Pupil size data are recorded using eyetracking devices that provide an output containing pupil size at various points in time. During blinks the eyetracking device loses track of the pupil, resulting in missing values in the output file. The...
It has been suggested that the Stroop task gives rise to two conflicts: the information
conflict (color vs. word meaning) and the task conflict (name the color vs. read the
word). However, behavioral indications for task conflict (RT congruent condition longer
than RT neutral condition) appear under very restricted conditions. We conducted
Stroop e...
It has been suggested that the interference in the Stroop task arises due to both information conflict (color vs. word meaning) and task conflict (respond to the color vs. read the word). Interestingly, the task conflict (faster responses in the congruent condition compared to the neutral condition) is influenced by the readability of the stimulus....
The color-word Stroop task produces both information conflict (detection of the ink color vs. word meaning) and task conflict (respond to the ink color vs. read the word). In the present study we measured both reaction time and pupil dilation, and the neutral stimuli in our study were non-readable letter strings as well as meaningless non-readable...
Previous research found that when people are instructed to smile toward liked objects and show negative facial expressions toward disliked objects, their facial response is faster and more intense than when they are required to smile toward disliked objects and express negative facial response toward liked objects. The present research tested a tec...
Throughout the history of modern psychology, the neural basis of cognitive performance, and particularly its efficiency, has been assumed to be an essential determinant of developmental and individual differences in a wide range of human behaviors. Here, we examine one aspect of cognitive efficiency—cognitive effort, using pupillometry to examine d...
Studies of the Stroop color-word task have provided evidence for the existence of two conflicts: 1) an early task conflict between noting the relevant color and reading afforded by the irrelevant word (or word-like stimuli), and 2) a late information conflict between the information provided by the word and the information provided by the color. Me...
Reaction time (RT) is one of the most frequently used measures to detect cognitive processes. When tasks require more cognitive processes / resources, reaction is slower. However, RTs may provide only restricted information regarding the temporal characteristics of cognitive processes. Pupils respond reflexively to light but also to cognitive activ...
Math fluency (MF) is the ability to quickly and accurately solve simple math exercises. Proficiency in MF is one of the buildings of arithmetic achievement during school. However, so far only paper and pencil tests have been used to assess MF. In the current study we present the BGU‐MF (Ben‐Gurion University Math Fluency) test, a new computerized t...
Shaded 2D images often create an illusion of depth, due to the shading information and assumptions regarding the location of the light source. Specifically, 2D images that are lighter on top usually appear convex while images that are darker on top, usually appear concave, reflecting the assumption that light is coming from above. The process of re...
The Stroop task gives rise to two major conflicts: the task conflict (respond to the color vs. read the word) and the information conflict that can result from the stimulus–response compatibility (SRC; difference between two responses) or from the stimulus–stimulus compatibility (SSC; difference between the two contradictive pieces of information)....
Pupil dilation is an effective indicator of cognitive load [1]. There are many available eye tracker systems in the market that provide effective solutions for pupil dilation measurement, which can be used to assess different cognitive and affective processes. However, there is a lack of tools for processing and analyzing the data provided by these...
Projects
Projects (2)
The Stroop task (Stroop, 1935) is one of the most most-used tasks to measure cognitive control. In the commonly used Stroop task, participants are presented with a color word in color and asked to respond to the ink color and ignore the meaning of the word. In general, the Stroop task arises due to both information conflict (detection of the ink color vs. word meaning) and task conflict (respond to the ink color vs. read the word). While most of the studies provide robust behavioral evidence for information conflict (faster responses in congruent trials compared to incongruent trials), the evidence for the task conflict (faster responses in neutral trials compared to congruent trials) is apparent only under specific circumstances (e.g., reduction of the cognitive control, or change in the expectation for conflict).
Pupil dilation is considered to be a good measure of mental effort / task difficulty (Kahneman & Beatty, 1966). Specifically, it is considered to be an index of effort in cognitive control tasks (van der Wel & van Steenbergen, 2018). In contrast to the standard reaction time (RT) measurement, pupil dilation has a temporal appearance that keeps the differences among conditions for long intervals. Hence, in our studies we used both RT and changes in pupil dilation as dependent measures. Our results provided us detailed information about the Stroop task. First, in contrast to the robust results provided by RT, pupil dilation presented clear-cut evidence for the existence of task conflict without any manipulation of control or the expectation for conflict. In addition and more important, the evidence for the task conflict appeared earlier than the evidence for the information conflict. These results are in line with Goldfarb and Henik’s (2007) who suggested that because it appears early, it can be dealt with earlier and thus contributes to the production of (small) facilitation rather than reverse facilitation in regular Stroop studies.
Pupil dilation is an effective indicator of cognitive load. There are many available eye tracker systems in the market that provide effective solutions for pupil dilation measurement, which can be used to assess different cognitive and affective processes. However, there is a lack of tools for processing and analyzing the data provided by these systems. For this reason, we developed CHAP - an open source software written in Matlab. This software provides a user-friendly interface (graphical user interface) for processing and analyzing pupillometry data. The software receives input of a standard output file of the Eyelink eye tracker (EDF file) and provides both pre-processing and initial analysis of the data. Our software creates uniform conventions for building and analyzing pupillometry experiments, and provides a quick and easy-to-implement solution for researchers interested in pupillometry.
