Webcam-based Eye-tracking in Autism Over the Internet

Mar 1, 2025 · 2 min read

TL;DR

We used webcam-based eye-tracking to study social attention in a large autistic sample. Participants watched Zoom-style group conversations while their gaze was recorded. Preliminary data from 97 autistic and 140 non-autistic adults suggest that autistic individuals may be more distracted by irrelevant nonsocial events. A pre-registered replication with a broader sample is underway. Stay tuned!

Webcam-based Eye-tracking

Traditional eye-tracking requires costly lab setups and in-person visits. We (co-lead with Na Yeon Kim) addressed this by using WebGazer, a webcam-based tool compatible with most home computers. To work around its lower resolution, we designed a 2×2 grid-style stimulus layout.

Testing the feasibility of grid style stimuli
We tested the feasibilities of different grid layouts and decided to use the 2×2 layout

Feature-engineered Social Conversation Videos

We created scripted Zoom-style videos on various topics (e.g., group project, family chat, workplace conflict) using professional actors. Each video included social cues (e.g., turn-taking, listener reactions) and irrelevant background distractions, presented with orthogonal timing.

Example video
An example video stimuli, 4 people talk with each other
We collected eye-tracking data that can tell apart which quadrant the participant looks at.
Gaze distribution
Example gaze from a participant, each color is a gaze quadrant.

Large-scale Assessments on Autistic Adults

We recruited autistic and non-autistic adults via:

  1. Prolific (online platform)
  2. SPARK (Simons Foundation database)
  3. Local outreach in LA

Each participant watched multiple videos at home while using their own computer webcam to record their eye movements.

With some preliminary data from 97 autistic and 140 non-autistic participants, we found that

  • Overall, the data quality was good and comparable between the groups.
  • Autistic individuals may be more prone to distraction by irrelevant nonsocial events in our video stimuli.

Equally good data quality
Data quality was good and comparable between the groups
More gaze on distractions
The ASD group had more gaze at distractions

Conference Presentation

In May 2024, I presented these results at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) 2024 Annual Meeting in an oral session titled “Differential Gaze Patterns in Autism While Watching Video Conversations: An Online Eye-Tracking Study”.

Abstract

Ongoing Pre-registered Study

Our team is currently working on a pre-registered experiment using the same paradigm with a more diverse sample. Stay tuned!

see our OSF Preregistration

Social Attention Autism
Qianying Wu
Authors
Qianying Wu
Graduate Student