What exactly is saccadic eye motion and fixations?
True engagement/excitement.
The human eye does not “see” like a camera, but more like a TV picture tube. In order to gain a “visual picture” for the brain, the eye must keep vibrating and provide constant streams of information to the center of the retina, the fovea. The more visual information the brain wants, the faster the eye vibrates. These mini-movements are known as macro-saccades. This vibration is separate from the more familiar changes in eye focus points, known in the industry as “eye movement.” In order to remember a specific visual, the eye “fixates” and stops moving for a fraction of a second. These fixations and macro-saccades are an objective level of respondent behavioral engagement, uniquely recorded by PreTesting’s patented Saccadic e-Motion reader. Saccadic rates can reach as high as 400-500 movements per second, and PreTesting is able to measure eye movement, readership, macro-saccadic reaction and fixations, all without the respondent’s awareness. There are no chin rests, helmets, skin sensors or special equipment in sight.
Our e-Motion Reader, a passive, hidden technology, tracks the order of examination given to each test execution (and competitive design) and also tracks the level of saccades and fixations. We measure the level of vibrations of your eye and thereby the level of engagement you display towards an execution. Our measurements tell us how much information the respondent wants to see and remember during the exposure to the test execution.