Studying attention to IPCC climate change maps with mobile eye-tracking

RESEARCH ARTICLE Studying attention to IPCC climate change maps with mobile eye-tracking Doga GulhanID1,2*, Bahador Bahrami2, Ophelia Deroy3 1 Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom, 2 Faculty of General Psychology and Education, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Mu¨ nchen, Germany, 3 Faculty of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and the Study of Religion, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Mu¨nchen, Germany * dogagulhan@gmail.com Abstract Many visualisations used in the climate communication field aim to present the scientific models of climate change to the public. However, relatively little research has been con- ducted on how such data are visually processed, particularly from a behavioural science perspective. This study examines trends in visual attention to climate change predictions in world maps using mobile eye-tracking while participants engage with the visualisations. Our primary aim is to assess engagement with the maps, as indicated by gaze metrics. Second- ary analyses assess whether social context (as social viewing compared to solitary viewing) affects these trends, the relationship between projection types and visual attention, compare gaze metrics between scientific map and artwork viewing, and explore correlations between self-reported climate anxiety scores and attention patterns. We employed wearable, head- mounted eye-tracking to collect data in relatively naturalistic conditions, aiming to enhance ecological validity. In this research, participants engaged with ten world maps displaying

near- and far-term climate projections across five data categories, adapted from the online interactive atlas provided by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). To compare scientific information processing with aesthetic perception, participants also viewed two large-scale artworks. Responses to the Climate Change Anxiety Scale (CCAS) were also collected. Participants viewed the displays alone (single-viewing condition, N = 35) or together with a partner (paired-viewing condition, N = 12). Results revealed that the upper parts of the maps, particularly the continental Europe, received significant attention, sug- gesting a Euro-centric bias in viewing patterns. Spatial gaze patterns were similar between single and paired conditions, indicating that the visual attributes of the maps predominantly shaped attention locations. Although dwell times were comparable, the paired condition showed higher fixation counts, shorter average fixation durations, and longer scanpaths, suggesting a potentially dissociable viewing strategy and more exploratory viewing patterns influenced by social interaction. No substantial differences were observed in attention across projection timeframes or types, although individual variations were noted. Artwork viewing exhibited notably shorter average fixation durations compared to climate map view- ing, potentially reflecting different visual engagement styles. Despite positive linear correla- tions among the four CCAS subscales, there was no apparent correlation between CCAS

scores and main gaze metrics, indicating a lack of a direct relationship between self- PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316909 January 10, 2025 1 / 17 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Gulhan D, Bahrami B, Deroy O (2025) Studying attention to IPCC climate change maps with mobile eye-tracking. PLoS ONE 20(1): e0316909. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0316909 Editor: Antoine Coutrot, CNRS: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, FRANCE Received: September 2, 2024 Accepted: December 18, 2024 Published: January 10, 2025 Copyright: © 2025 Gulhan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All anonymized data sets are publicly accessible for verification and reuse, in two directories corresponding to maps and paintings: osf.io/2jqcu and osf.io/5bh78. Funding: Partial funding for this project was provided by a grant (ID: TRT-0480) from the Templeton Religion Trust (templetonreligiontrust. org), titled “Aesthetic Cognitivism for Groups: Collective Ways of Looking and Sense-making”, awarded to co-author Bahador Bahrami, and by a grant (ID: 10349) from the Volkswagen Stiftung Grant (volkswagenstiftung.de), titled “Ways of