Development of an Evaluation Method for Estimating Information Processing Time Based on Blink Latency

Abstract

This paper presents a method of estimating information processing time using blink latency by measuring subject's spontaneous blinks when he or she processes information from external stimuli. The salient feature of this method is that the information processing time can be obtained without having the subjects carry out specific acts. First, the theoretical procedures of the method are explained. In the theory it is assumed that eyeblink is suppressed during information processing time and is released after the processing is finished. The author stochastically considers the relations among the time when the stimulus is presented, the time when the preceding blink occurs, and the time when the following blink occurs. Next, the calculation results obtained by this method are examined by comparison with the experimental data from 11 subjects. In the experiments, subjects were instructed to read a line of Japanese text on a personal computer screen. The calculation results and the actual experimental data show good agreement.