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

durations, and longer scanpaths, though dwell times remained comparable. These variations may indicate differences in visual and cognitive processing, such as varying cognitive efforts [30], or social motivation [31]. Attentional hotspots, indexed by fixation heatmaps, were broadly similar, indicating that the content of visual stimuli primarily captures attention, often displaying a Euro-centric bias. This implies that the bottom-up, object-based factors such as image saliency may have a larger effect on viewing patterns. However, dissimilarities can be partially explained by how social contexts shape viewer engagement, thereby influencing their information processing strategies. Additionally, gaze metrics differed between viewing maps and artworks. Scientific informa- tion processing and aesthetic perception showed some distinct viewing strategies, with map viewing generally associated on average with longer fixation durations. These preliminary findings align to some extent with prior work highlighted in the Introduction, suggesting that viewing context (including differences between laboratory and museum environments) and the authenticity of stimuli (such as reproductions versus originals) can influence gaze patterns and overall engagement with visual stimuli. Although not directly comparable (given that this study was conducted in a lab setting with reproductions of artworks), it is worth considering what constitutes the genuine context for climate change maps, which are encountered in a variety of settings.

Although there were significant positive linear cross-correlations among the subscales of the CCAS, the lack of a significant linear correlation between main gaze metrics and climate anxiety scores suggests that visual attention, as indexed by main gaze metrics, may not directly relate to self-reported trait anxiety levels. It is important to note that no additional measures were used to capture contextual emotional responses of participants to the content in this study. The small size of the paired-viewing group, due to convenience sampling, and the inherent data noise in mobile eye-tracking need to be considered when assessing these pilot results. The imbalance between single- and paired-viewing conditions, as well as the limited diversity in gender and age, further limits the generalisability of the findings. These constraints reflect the challenges of recruiting larger, more balanced samples for mobile eye-tracking studies, which typically require specialised equipment and substantial resources. Additionally, participants might have treated the viewing differently within the experimental setting compared to a natu- ralistic environment, such as a museum or classroom. Nonetheless, the observed differences between isolated and social settings, and between maps and artworks, show that the method can successfully capture differences in viewing patterns, even under these conditions. This study provides a foundation for future research to consider the impact of various types of cli-

mate-related visual stimuli on a broader audience. Extending this research to more ecologically valid settings, as highlighted earlier, could help further clarify how real-world contexts shape engagement with scientific and aesthetic stimuli. Additionally, integrating momentary affec- tive assessments and qualitative assessments in mixed-methods designs could also provide deeper insights into the cognitive and emotional dimensions of viewer engagement. Our study highlights the potential of mobile eye-tracking for understanding how people engage with climate projections. Behavioural science has been hinted as a precious source of recommendations to enhance climate visualisations in four key areas: how to direct visual attention, reduce visual complexity, support inference-making, and integrate text with graph- ics [1], and this study clearly demonstrates how it can contribute to the first objective. This should not mean that the other aspects are equally essential and require further investigation. Visual complexity and text-graphic integration can also be tested with eye-tracking and high- lights future uses for the methods. The reason not to pursue those here is that our approach PLOS ONE Studying attention to IPCC climate change maps with mobile eye-tracking PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316909 January 10, 2025 12 / 17