Inter-Subject Correlations of Pupillary Audience Responses

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This study introduces a novel VR-based approach to measure pupillary responses during media consumption. Researchers exposed participants to 30 video messages in a virtual TV viewing room, capturing pupil dilation and constriction via VR-integrated eye-tracking. By analyzing cross-receiver similarity (inter-subject correlations) of pupillometric responses, we could identify which specific video an individual was watching. This method worked best under normal viewing conditions and was sensitive to attentional manipulations. This study also found that messages with the most robust pupil response signatures were more likely to be remembered. Theoretical implications for quantifying media exposure and developing signatures of perceptual attention in individuals and audiences are discussed. Practically, this pupillary audience response measurement could be applied to various media formats, including screen-based media, social media, and VR/AR environments. In sum, the study highlights the potential of pupillometry in understanding audience engagement and response dynamics in naturalistic media consumption settings.