| dc.description.abstract | In this thesis we explore up to which extent eye pupil diameter, measured through an eye tracking device, reflects levels of empathy among individuals during a specific task performance. The analysis is conducted based on the eye tracker data collected during an experiment designed by Bhurtel et al [1]. Empathy is a complex phenomena defined by various definitions and it is challenging to measure it. Here, we analyze the hypothesis that empathy correlates with individual’s pupil size. The size of the eye pupil is
the indicator of attention (positive correlation), which means that the existing positive correlation between the empathy and pupil size could indicate an existing correlation between attention and empathy. The results show that from the analyzed data we could not discover correlation between empathy scores and pupil size, hence it was not possible to investigate further the relation between empathy and attention. Moreover, a critical discussion on the experimental design is presented. In particular, we describe an alternative experiment to better assess if empathy is correlated with attention. The new experiment could help in collecting better data and trigger an emotional reaction among the participants, which is necessary to invoke a higher level of empathy.
The research for this thesis as well as its writing was entirely done between January and May 2022 | en_US |
