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News — New research by a psychology professor at finds that techniques used in a Baroque-era painting could help today’s marketers catch the attention of modern consumers.

Eye tracking, the practice of measuring and recording the movements and positions of a person's eyes, offers valuable insight into how people perceive and interact with their environments. For example, understanding why consumers direct attention towards or away from an object allows marketers to create more engaging advertisements; it can also provide insight into how users engage with digital content and how platforms can be designed for a better user experience. Similarly, understanding eye movement patterns can help interior designers determine which environments are the most aesthetically pleasing.

Now, eye movement research led by , assistant professor of psychology and counseling at New York Institute of Technology, suggests that a 400-year-old painting leveraged valuable “attention-grabbing” techniques—and today’s marketers may want to take notice.

In 1628, Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens recreated the well-known oil painting The Fall of Man, made famous 100 years earlier by the Italian painter Titian. However, Rubens took creative license in modifying several features of the painting, which depicts biblical characters Adam, Eve, and the serpent child in the Garden of Eden. Whereas Titian’s work depicted the serpent child and Adam looking at one another, Rubens shifted their gaze toward Eve. In addition, Rubens added a red parrot near the outside of Adam’s body and repositioned Adam's posture, among other changes. But how these updates changed the way viewers perceived Rubens’ work vs. Titian’s has remained unclear.

Now, as published in the , Alexander and his research team have tracked eye movement to quantify where viewers direct their attention. Thirty-three participants were shown digital copies of both artworks, as well as a version of Rubens' painting with the parrot digitally removed. Eye movements were recorded as participants gazed at the computer screen using a video-based eye tracker; scan paths and heat maps were used to determine where users directed their attention.

In general, eye movement patterns showed that participants focused more on Eve’s face in the Rubens painting, whereas attention was more broadly distributed in Titian’s work.

Then, using a subset of the experiment’s participants, the researchers “zeroed in” on the Rubens painting to determine whether the presence of the parrot played a role in shifting the focus toward Eve’s face. Participants were shown the Rubens painting and a version of the painting with the parrot digitally removed. The data showed that less eye movement occurred when the parrot was present, but when the parrot was removed, eye movement increased and gaze was redirected to other areas of the artwork. This suggests that the addition of the parrot may have been a strategic decision on Rubens' part, directing viewers to focus their gaze on Eve.

“While we may never know why Rubens wanted to direct attention towards Eve, our findings show that his critical deviations from Titian's painting have a powerful effect on oculomotor behavior—techniques that today’s marketers and designers may find useful,” said Alexander. “From a psychological standpoint, it also goes to show you that how and where we focus our attention is not just determined by what we see, but also how others want us to see it.” 

About New York Institute of Technology

New York Institute of Technology's six schools and colleges offer undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and other professional degree programs in in-demand disciplines including computer science, data science, and cybersecurity; biology, health professions, and medicine; architecture and design; engineering; IT and digital technologies; management; and energy and sustainability. A nonprofit, independent, private, and nonsectarian institute of higher education founded in 1955, it welcomes nearly 8,000 students worldwide. The university has campuses in New York City and Long Island, New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world. More than 114,000 alumni are part of an engaged network of physicians, architects, scientists, engineers, business leaders, digital artists, and healthcare professionals. Together, the university's community of doers, makers, healers, and innovators empowers graduates to change the world, solve 21st-century challenges, and reinvent the future. For more information, visit .