The First Hundred Years: a History of Eye Tracking as a Research Method

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Applied Linguistics Papers 25/4, 2018, 101–116
Applied Linguistics Papers: www.alp.uw.edu.pl
The First Hundred Years: a History of Eye Tracking as a Research
Method
Monika PŁUŻYCZKA
Uniwersytet Warszawski/ University of Warsaw
E-mail: mpluzyczka@uw.edu.pl,
Abstract: The paper describes the first hundred years of the history of eye tracking as a research meth-
od, dividing it into three phases of development. It starts by presenting the studies on tracing eye
movements in reading in the end of the 19
th
century and the creation of the first eye trackers. The fur-
ther part presents how the eye tracking technology was improved in the time of film recordings, ceas-
ing to be invasive for the eyes. It also shows how in this time the main focus of research shifted to
practical aspects due to the development of the behaviourist movement in experimental psychology.
The third phase starts in the 1970s, when researchers turned more towards the dependence between the
perception and mental processes. It was linked to the establishment of a theoretical and methodological
basis for cognitive psychology.
Keywords: eye tracking, research, history, technology, eye movements, reading process, development,
eye trackers
1.
The technological progress and increasing dissemination of research equipment
(such as eye trackers, EEG) in disciplines not related to medicine, as well as more
and more easier access to state-of-the-art devices (e.g. fMRI) have opened up new
cognitive possibilities to humanities. Linguistics, language didactics and translation
studies, too, use increasingly the technological possibilities to extend their bounda-
ries of cognition. One of such technological method in translation studies (in use in
this academic discipline for about 12 years) is eye tracking.
Eye tracking devices allow to trace the eye movement, whereas a special soft-
ware enables to process the data in such a way that it becomes possible to interpret
the data scientifically. At the foundation of this kind of research lies the assumption
that there is a correlation between eye movements and particular mental processes.
The eye, i.e. sight, is for humans one of the most important senses. Nearly 80% of
all sensory impressions are delivered to the brain via the visual channel. Vision pro-
vides also information at the highest level of speed. The speed of data transmission
is measured in bits per second, various senses transfer information at the following
speed: eyes (sight) – provide information at a speed of 10 million bit/s, skin (touch)
– one million bit/s, ears (hearing) – 100,000 bit/s, nose (smell) – 100,000 bit/s,
tongue (taste) – 1000 bit/s (quoted from: V. Gollücke 2009). Moreover, 10% of the
cerebral cortex is involved in the interpretation of visual information. The visual

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cortex, in turn, accounts for about 60% of the whole cerebral cortex, taking into
account all areas responsible for responses to visual stimuli. This means that most of
the information (and in the fastest way) man gathers from surrounding world is re-
ceived by means of sight. Furthermore, visual activity is the easiest one to examine,
after verbal and motoric operations, when it comes to the whole range of human
behaviour. This is yet another reason for the rising popularity of eye tracking stud-
ies.
It should not surprise then that also translation studies attempt to increasingly
use the achievements of eye tracking. The use of these achievements in translation
studies enables us to collect interesting data on how we perceive visually during
translation, and consequently also on how we process information during the transla-
tion act and what mental processes are involved in the act.
In this article I will address the history of eye tracking studies, focusing in par-
ticular on the area of greatest interest to me, namely on studies regarding text per-
ception.
2.
Eye tracking seems to be a modern technology, however, its roots can be traced back
to the 19th century, when regular studies on the reading process began (G. Bente
2005). At the beginning researchers studied eye movements without measuring
equipment, based on normal observations. A mirror was placed on the pages of the
book read by the test subject, behind whose back stood the experimenter who ob-
served the movement of the test subject’s eyes in that mirror. Of course, that method
was far from being precise, nonetheless it yielded some interesting conclusions re-
garding the visual perception during reading.
As to who was first to conduct studies on tracking eye movement during read-
ing, there is some inaccuracy. Most sources report that the first researcher to have
described the movement of the eyes during reading was French ophthalmologist
Louis Émile Javal, at the end of the 1870s and these years are also considered the
beginning of the era of eye tracking studies. The scientific experiments led L.É.
Javal to the conclusion in 1879 that reading did not require eyes to move continu-
ously along a line of text, as had been assumed previously. He proceeded to explain
that reading was not a linear process, meaning that the test subject’s eyes did not
move continuously during the passage over each line but that it is more a process
consisting in short rapid movements (saccades) intermingled with pauses, or short
stops of the eyes (fixations) on concrete elements.
In the article “Did Javal Measure Eye Movements during Reading?” (2009) N.J.
Wade and B. W. Tatler challenged the proposition that it had been L.É. Javal who
was the first to carry out and describe such tests. They determined – and it seems
they were right in doing so – that L.É. Javal had been attributed the achievements of
M. Lamare’a1. This mistake was due to the misinterpretation of words of E.B. Huey
1 As stressed by the authors, in those times many undertook to study eye movements, includ-
ing such scholars as: E. Rählmann (1878), A. Ahrens (1891), E. Landolt (1891), M.H.E.

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who had written:
Lamare, working with Javal, finding that the movement of the eye in reading was not
continuous, but by little jerks (par saccades), devised the following method for counting
these: A blunt point placed on the upper eyelid of the reader put in action a microphone,
whose sound, transmitted by a rubber tube, made known each movement to the ear of the
experimenter the short reading jerks causing a brief sound, while the extensive move-
ments made in passing from the end of the line to the commencement of the next, caused
a more prolonged sound (E.B. Huey 1900: 285).
The authors of the article stress that he really meant the research of M. Lamare who
had been conducting studies in L.É. Javal’s laboratory. These experiments were
actually described by L.É. Javal himself:
Following the research of M. Lamare in our laboratory, the eye makes several
saccades during the passage over each line, about one for every 15–18 letters of text.
It is probable that in myopes the eye reacts with a rapid change in accommodation
with every one of these saccades (L.É. Javal 1879: 252).
The supposition of the authors is confirmed by L.É. Javal’s own words as he al-
ways stressed in his works that it was M. Lamare who carried out the studies that
indicated that the eye movement in the reading process was not linear (see also: L.É.
Javal 1905: 127).
L.É. Javal, in turn, wrote on the basis of his observations that he did not notice
vertical eye movements during reading, and this argument actually stands in contrast
to words attributed to him:
(…) gaze glides along a line slightly higher than the centre of the characters. The reason
for this is easy to see: if gaze simply glides horizontally, complicated and useless move-
ments are avoided, and the chosen position of the horizontal is determined by the struc-
ture of the typographic characters2 (L.É. Javal 1878: 251).
Doubtlessly, L.É. Javal’s contribution was the first-time use of the term “saccades”.
L.É. Javal counted those saccades by attaching a microphone to the upper eyelid of
the reader. When the reader’s gaze slid along the text, it was possible to record the
eye movement next to the microphone (J. Grobelny et al. 2006).
Little is known about M. Lamare besides the above-mentioned citations.
He failed to publish anything for over a decade after carrying out his experiments.
He later described several methods he had been using in order to count and analyse
saccades during reading. However, as he was not satisfied with his observations of
eye movements, he created a device that would be able to record the eye jerks and
stops. He placed a blunt point on the eyelid; that point “captured” the sound created
by each saccade, transferring it as a soft snap to the experimenter’s ear, via a drum
with an ebonite membrane in the centre and to which a small tube was attached:
Tscherning (1898). A. Ahrens attempted to examine the eye movements using a lens made of
ivory and hair attached to it. While he was not able to go through with his idea, it was later
used by E. B. Delabarre (1898) and E. B. Huey (1898, 1900).

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The method that gives the best results is one by which the movements are heard via
a drum with an ebonite membrane in the centre and to which a small tube is attached; the
tube is in contact with the conjunctiva or eyelid and is connected to both ears by rubber
tubes… The apparatus yields distinctive sounds which an assistant can count and add,
and note for each line. The return movement of the eyes to the beginning of a line gives
a longer and louder noise that is easy to recognise; one counts the number of saccades
from the start of the line to be able to note the number of divisions that occur in a line
(M. Lamare 1892: 357; italic print by the author).
M. Lamare was the first to apply a mechanical device, arguing that saccades were
easier to register by sound than by sight, which now seems quite a surprising asser-
tion.
A regular examination of eye movements was commenced by E. Huey (1898).
He, too, is considered the creator of the first eye tracker. E. Huey used a sort of con-
tact lens with an opening for the iris. That lens was connected with an aluminium
indicator which showed the eye movement (regression factor). This method, howev-
er, was so invasive to the eye that E. Huey resorted to giving his test subjects co-
caine in order to reduce their discomfort during the experiment.
Around the same time (1898) a similarly invasive mechanical method to study
eye movements has been worked out by E.B. Delabarre. He used a cap made of gyp-
sum which adhered to the moist surface of the eye. Attached to this cap was a wire
that led to a lever which drew horizontal movements of the eye on the sooted surface
of a cinematographic cylinder. The test subject (usually E.B. Delabarre himself) was
able to read a text through a hole made in the gypsum cap. The eye was anaesthe-
tised with cocaine. The gypsum cap did not detach from the eye until it started fill-
ing with tears. It should be noted that E.B. Delabarre himself was unable to deter-
mine whether the method was safe for the eye. He merely asserted that after record-
ing eye movements for over an hour, he recover within a week.
The first non-invasive and precise eye tracker, in turn, was created in 1901 by
Americans R. Dodge and T.S. Cline who had started the phase of optical eye track-
ers. They were the first to use light that reflects from the surface of the cornea and
falls through an optical system onto a moving photosensitive photographic plate,
thus leaving a record of the eye movement on that plate. Their device, called “The
Dodge Photochronograph” (it was used mostly by R. Dodge and his collaborators),
was a breakthrough in the development of eye tracking technology and it made de-
vices using the reflection of light from the cornea popular. However, R. Dodge’s and
T.S. Cline’s device had two drawbacks: firstly, it registered only horizontal move-
ments of the eyes and it required test subjects to keep their heads still. Nonetheless,
thanks to these studies it was discovered that a person does not receive information
from the surrounding world at the same time as saccadic movements occur.

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Photograph 1. R. Dodge next to the eye tracker designed by him
(A.R. Diefendor/ R. Dodge 1908: 462).
The photographic plates used by R. Dodge and T.S. Cline were next replaced by
photographic tape.
The next breakthrough in eye tracking research came about with the construction
of a device that was able to record both horizontal and vertical eye movements.
It was presented a few years later, in 1905, by Ch.H. Judd, C.N. McAlister and
W.M. Steel. They placed a small mechanical indicator on the test subject’s eye
which reflected a light spot. Depending on the position of the eye the light spot de-
picted the eye movements on a photosensitive tape. The advantage of that method
was that there was no mechanical contact with the eye, but it had one drawback, just
like the apparatus of R. Dodge and T.S. Cline, i.e. it required the test subject’s head
to remain still for the device to register changes.
The initial era of eye tracking research yielded results which laid the foundations
for subsequent decades of studies and which created a data base on eye movement,
perception, seeing and looking. At the heart of research at that time were such issues
as saccadic suppression (meaning that we do not receive information during a sac-
cade), the saccade latency (i.e. the time we need to initiate eye movement) and the
vision span (i.e. the effective visual field) (see K. Rayner 1998).
The second era of eye movement research started with the time of film record-
ings in the 1920s. It initiated the development of eye tracking techniques. The new
methods had one huge advantage, namely they did not necessitate invasive tech-
niques affecting the test subject, they recorded both directions of eye movement and
they provided an objective record of eye movements. However, in terms of experi-
mental precision of the studies, this technique hardly differed from the original ob-
servation method.
Meanwhile, electric eye tracking technology was developing at the same time as
the above methods. That technology was based on the occurrence of a difference of
potentials between the back and the front part of the eye, resulting from the electric
activity of the retina. In this method electrodes are placed next to the eye, usually on
both sides, to enable the registration of changes of the potential as a result of eye
movement (J. Grobelny et al. 2006). In 1922 E. Schott (1922) used the electroocu-
lography which involves counting the varying values of electric potentials of the

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cornea and the retina. The use of this research method considerably improved the
accuracy and credibility of results.
The second stage of eye tracking studies was the resultant of technological pro-
gress and the development of the behaviourist movement in experimental psycholo-
gy. Consequently, at that time research on the eye movement focused usually on the
practical aspect, that is the specifics of eye movement. Only a small part of that re-
search was devoted to cognitive processes which these movements could have been
indicative of:
Psychologists who studied eye movements and fixations prior to the 1970s generally
attempted to avoid cognitive factors such as learning, memory, workload, and
deployment of attention. Instead their focus was on relationships between eye
movements and simple visual stimulus properties such as target movement, contrast, and
location. Their solution to the problem of higher-level cognitive factors had been “to
ignore, minimize or postpone their consideration in an attempt to develop models of the
supposedly simpler lower-level processes, namely, sensorimotor relationships and their
underlying physiology” (E. Kowler 1990: 1, quote from: R.J.K. Jacob/ K.S. Karn 2003:
575).
Important publications of the time on reading included: M.A. Tinker (1946, 1958),
R.Y. Walker (1933), L.G. Stone (1941) and also studies of G.T. Buswell (1935,
1937). In 1930 Miles Tinker and his collaborators began using photographic tech-
niques to study eye movement of readers. He also examined the impact of the font
type and size as well as the look and page layout on the outcome and the reading
speed as well as their influence on how eye balls move. In turn, G.T. Buswell (1935,
1937) created the first non-contact device registering eye movements. He used it to
study the reading and watching of images.
Photograph 2 and photograph 3. Apparatus used for photographing eye movements
(G.T. Buswell 1935: 12,13).
Buswell’s technique involved a method of separating light reflected from the cornea,
which enabled a two-dimensional registration of movements of a single eye:

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Photograph 4. Sample of film record by eye movement apparatus
(G.T. Buswell 1935: 14)3.
The method consisted in photographing on a moving film the eye movements of
a group of test subjects while they looked at series of pictures:
The apparatus was built for the particular purpose of this experiment in the workshop of
the laboratories in educational psychology of the University of Chicago. Basically the
apparatus is a large camera built in such a way that the two films can be moved continu-
ously during the process of photographing. The various lenses and mirrors are simply for
the purpose of bringing to a focus on the film the reflection of the tiny spot of light from
the cornea of the eye. The light which reflects on the eye originates under the table. It is
passed forward through a series of lenses and then upward through two holes in the ta-
ble, after which it strikes two circular mirrors and is reflected to the subject's eyes. In-
stead of facing the camera lens, as has been necessary with previous pieces of apparatus
of this sort, the subject is placed at right angles to the camera which gives him an open
field of vision of whatever size is needed. Small pictures can be placed as close as the
normal reading distance of twelve inches, whereas larger pictures can be set back what-
ever number of feet seems desirable. The provision of this larger field of vision adds a
great deal of flexibility to the uses of the apparatus (G.T. Buswell 1935: 11).
Next, in 1947, P.M. Fitts and his collaborators started using a film camera to carry
out eye tracking experiments (see P.M. Fitts/ R.E. Jones/ J.L. Milton 1950) in stud-
ies on the movement of eyes of pilots using controls in a cockpit and the instrument
landing system.
Test subjects were released from immobilisation during tests only in 1948, by
H. Hartridge and L.C. Thompson. They created a device that was put on the head of
the test participant:
A new type of apparatus has recently been devised by Hartridge and Thomson, namely
to hang from a suitable counterpoise a frame which carries the microscope, the reference
lights and the corneal light source. It also carries a mouth plate which fits on to the teeth
of the subject. The counterpoise is so arranged that the apparatus tends neither to rise nor
to fall, but can be freely rotated in all directions. The optical apparatus is so disposed
that the subject can observe uninterruptedly suitable fixation points of light which are at-
3 The upper record shows the horizontal movements of the eye and the lower one shows the
vertical movements. The line marked E indicates eye movements and H presents record of
head movements (G.T. Buswell 1935: 14).

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tached to a wall beyond the apparatus retains the advantage of the previous one, of ena-
bling measurements of eye movements to be obtained which are quite independent of
head movements (H. Hartridge and L.C. Thompson, 1948: 588–589).
It was hardly a comfortable method for the test subject, however, it no longer re-
quired him to sit still in one place.
Schema 1. An eye tracker devised by H. Hartridge and L.C. Thompson
(H. Hartridge/ L.C. Thompson 1948: 588).
A breakthrough in terms of comfort for subjects was achieved following the devel-
opment of mobile eye tracker technology. The technology was perfected in the
1960s, by B. Shackel (1960) and N.H. Mackworth and E.L. Thomas (1962), to make
them even less burdensome for the test subjects.
Suggested in 1958 by J.F. Mackworth and N.H. Mackworth, the method for reg-
istering eye positions in recordings of a scene watched by a test subject during the
study represented another important discovery. Thanks to this innovation it became
possible to observe eye movement concurrently with the result of that movement, in
the form of gazing path of a given element. This eased the interpretation of eye
tracking research considerably and it widened research possibilities.
Also, the 1960s brought about a return to the invasive methods of E. Huey and
E.B. Delabarre. Scientists of the time came to the conclusion that a cap made of
gypsum placed on the eye may be attached to the eye by way of suction. Research of
Soviet biophysicist A. L. Yarbus4 garnered a lot of attention back then. He studied
the movement of eyes using a specific device: a rubber suction cap with a mirror
(later replaced with a radio antenna), attached by suction directly to the sclera of the
human eye.
4 A.L. Yarbus = Альфред Лукьянович Ярбус – this transcribed form of the Russian scien-
tist’s name is known in English-speaking academic circles. It was adopted according to Eng-
lish transliteration rules, since Yarbus’ works were translated into English.

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Picture 1. The suction device or “cap” (A.L. Yarbus 1967).
Light reflected from the mirror recorded eye movement on photographic paper. The
head of the test subject was immobilised in a metal frame and during the experiment
he had to keep biting a special plastic form which was attached to the metal frame
and which constituted a cast of the test subjects teeth.
Photograph 5. Yarbus eye tracker (A.L. Yarbus 1967).
This atypical technique was not repeated by other researchers on account of its ex-
treme invasiveness. The experiment could last only a few minutes on account of
how extremely inconvenient it was to the subject, whereas data processing took
weeks or months (see A.L. Yarbus 1965, 1967).
The highly contentious method allowed A.L. Yarbus to generate interesting re-
sults. The results of the experiment showed clearly a dependence of the gazing path
on the task the subject was set, i.e. the goal set for the test subject determines the
corresponding eye movement, specific perception and regard for specific elements.
A.L. Yarbus revealed also that when watching an image people look not only at
the contours but above all at the so-called logic centre (e.g. a person or animal). To
the recipients, faces of people mean more than the surrounding figures or conditions.
On the other hand, when looking at a portrait, recipients focus mostly on the eyes,

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mouth and nose:
Граница и контур важны для появления зрительного образа, однако когда образ
возник и видится непрерывно, у наблюдателя нет необходимости специально
интересоваться границами и контурами. Граница и контур всего лишь элементы,
из которых наряду с другими, не менее важными элементами складывается наше
восприятие и узнавание предмета. Совершенно очевидно, что контур предмета
будет привлекать внимание наблюдателя, если в самой форме контура заключены
важные и нужные сведения (A.L. Yarbus 2002: 412)5.
This last remark was illustrated by A.L. Yarbus (2002) by means of the example of
a sculpture representing Nefertiti, where the viewers whole attention during the ex-
periment focused on the profile, the contour of the sculpture, as well as on its eyes:
Picture 1. Eye movement depiction for two-minute observation
of Nefertiti sculpture (A.L. Yarbus 2002: 412).
Other researchers used special contact lenses fitted with coils; these lenses used
the principle of electromagnetic induction: wires attached to the lens registered
changes of power induced in the coils under the influences of eye movements in the
electromagnetic field generated around the head (quoted from J. Grobelny et al.
2006). However, this method had one major disadvantage: data obtained in such a
study could be accessed only after lengthy processing and the results were not visi-
ble on an ongoing basis.
The third phase of eye tracking research dates back to the mid-1970s. It coincid-
ed with two phenomena referring to:
 psychology, i.e. the establishment of a theoretical and methodological basis
for cognitive psychology;
5 The borders and contours are important for the emergence of a complete picture or image,
and yet once the image appears and it stays in sight, the observer no longer has to take spe-
cial interest in the borders and contours. These borders and contours are just some of the
elements which, alike others, no less important elements, affect our perception and recogni-
tion of the object. It is clear that the outline of an object will attract the observer’s attention if
the same form of contours indicates an important and necessary information (A.L. Yarbus
2002: 412, own translation).

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 technology – i.e. the start of the use of computer and television technology
and electronic techniques of detecting the eye and locating it.
This has influenced the character of the third phase of eye tracking research, during
which (1) researchers turned more towards the dependence between the perception
and mental processes transpiring at the same time in brain and (2) the use of the
boom of eye tracking technology. The described stage coincided with the develop-
ment of linguistic theories on language, language acquisition, text and language
properties, language processing, translation etc. This, in turn, had an impact on
stretching the range of eye tracking research onto linguistics, to cover among others
text perception.
The 1960s saw the creation of the first eye tracking device resembling modern
day equipment. It was made for the U.S. Air Force (J. Merchant 1966, 1969; J. Mer-
chant et al. 1974). This device was called the “oculometer”.
Photograph 6 and 7. Honeywell oculometer (J. Merchant 1966).
Photograph 8. Improved oculometer devised by J. Merchant.
On the left side – optomechanical unit, on the right – electronics unit
(J. Merchant, 1969: 12–13).
Thanks to computer algorithms the iris was recognised on a video screen and its
geometrical centre was then determined, as well as the direction in which the tested

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person was looking. This technology resembles modern-day computer-based eye
trackers. Meanwhile, in medicine researchers still sometimes use devices based on
electromagnetic induction or electrooculographic technology (quoted from:
J. Grobelny et al. 2006).
The mobile eye tracker was actually devised simultaneously by two army re-
search teams. The first, as mentioned above, had been commissioned by U.S. Air
Force and was produced by Honeywell Corporation, while the other was created for
the U.S. Army by EG&G Corporation. The two eye tracker models relieved the
strain of the test subjects; moreover, they became a landmark of eye tracking tech-
nology, as they allowed for an automatic analysis of eye tracking data and a faster
processing during while the experiment went on (see R.H. Lambert/ R.A. Monty/
R.J. Hall 1974, R.A. Monty 1975; J. Anliker 1976).
Important publications released in that time were based on the development of
cognitive psychology and assumed results regarding that field as their starting point.
Their authors attempted to develop theoretical models covering the correlation of
fixations with particular cognitive processes (i.a.: M.A. Just/ P.A. Carpenter 1976a,
1976b, 1980, works by K. Rayner, i.a.: K. Rayner 1977, 1981, 1983, 1989, also
group papers K. Rayner et al. 1989, 1976, 1986 etc., R.A. Monty/ J.W. Senders
1976, J.W. Senders/ D.F. Fisher/ R.A. Monty 1978, D.F. Fisher/ R.A. Monty/ J.W.
Senders 1981). There have also been significant studies regarding the analysis of
results of eye tracking research (i.a.: R. Kliegl/ R.K. Olson 1981, L.F. Scinto/ B.D.
Barnette 1986) and also those concerning themselves with visual imaging in relation
to the position of the eye (G.W. McConkie/ K. Rayner 1975, K. Rayner 1975b, S.M.
Reder 1973).
An extremely interesting study on the matter, and probably also the most com-
prehensive one so far, summarising the time from the mid-1970s till 1990s of eye-
tracking research on reading processes, was drafted in 1998, by K. Rayner in his
work “Eye Movements in Reading and Information Processing: 20 Years of Re-
search”. The summary drafted by K. Rayner refers to the bigger part to research
done by himself and his team, although it does also contain references to crucial
achievements in eye tracking research on text perception, carried out by other scien-
tists.
The next stage of eye tracking research started in the 1990s. It was triggered by
a fast development of eye tracking technology and an equally sudden surge in com-
puter operation and electronic data processing capacities. The devices became more
tolerant of head movements of test subjects, so the head no longer had to be immobi-
lised. Furthermore, the latest technological advancements expanded the range of
application of eye tracking techniques. Eye tracking analyses were being used in an
ever growing number of scientific fields and business sectors. Many companies
dealing professionally in eye tracking studies appeared, offering services in the most
diverse areas of life.
What is more, as scientific disciplines advanced and financing for research on
universities rose (which corresponded to the ability to buy research equipment), eye
tracking studies turned more and more into institutional studies, whole groups of

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scientists, research laboratories, work groups at universities, all specialising in eye
tracking, were established. This, in turn, resulted in a sudden spike in the number of
various publications, which also contributed to further dissemination of the issue at
hand and it sparked more interest in the matter. For instance, Danish firm iMotions,
which creates eye tracking and biometric software, has carried out studies using the
Internet search instrument Google Scholar, noting how the number of articles with
the key work “eye tracking” increased since the 1970s6:
1970–74: 310
1975-79: 487
1980-84: 633
1985-89: 829
1990-94: 1320
1995-99: 2540
2000-04: 7060
2005-09: 15000
2010-14: 21600 (projected result)
Chart 1. Data on number of articles on eye tracking
published in the past decades7.
We can bring these results up-to-date and check the number of the articles published
online with the key term “eye tracking”. Over the last years, the amount of such
articles increased dramatically: 20188 – 268 000 (in Google Scholar).
Looking at the data one will notice immediately how abruptly interest in eye
tracking research soared and, consequently, how the application of the eye tracking
methodology widened. In the 1950s–70s eye tracking was most popular in aviation
and aerospace medicine, when researchers examined the response of people in ex-
treme conditions triggered in flight simulations. Also scholars of neurology and
psychology took a keen, unwavering interest in eye tracking, as they examined visu-
al perception when reading, experiencing aesthetic sensations (e.g. looking at works
of art) and also in studies on processes of concentration. With the time new disci-
plines were added to the aforementioned research fields where eye tracking studies
were continued; these disciplines emerged as a result of consumer needs, commer-
cial market requirements and following the development of technology and various
socio-economic phenomena. During the last decade finally researchers from the
field of arts and humanities have begun to implement eye tracking equipment in
their studies expanding research possibilities, as well as cognitive boundaries. At
present the range of application of eye tracking is significantly broader, which, how-
ever, goes beyond the subject of this article.
6 The firm iMotions has mostly analysed English publications, the search term was thus the
English phrase eye tracking, spelled without a hyphen.
7 Source: http://imotionsglobal.com/blog/exponential-growth-in-academic-eye-tracking-
papers-over-the-last-40-years/ – accessed: 18.03.2014.
8 Accessed: 19.11.2018.

Monika PŁUŻYCZKA 114
Applied Linguistics Papers: www.alp.uw.edu.pl
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