ИСТИНА

The study is dedicated to the analysis of psychophysiological correlates of interest in descriptions of travel tours (primarily eye movements). Participants (males, n=21, 18-26 years old) read different texts about some places of interest in Russia and then answered the questions about their interest and attractiveness of viewed examples. EEG and autonomic indices were registered synchronously (according to the method developed by authors) with eye movement data registration. The method allowed directly separate data for periods of text reading, viewing questions and choosing answers. Additionally, psychological status and functional asymmetry were assessed. Firstly, psychophysiological data were analyzed separately: eye movements, EEG, and autonomic measurements. Then, the complex predictive model was built. It was revealed that some eye-tracker characteristics (fixation durations and saccade amplitudes) significantly differ for two situations: interest and no interest to travel tours. Several autonomic indices (heart rate, finger temperature, breathing parameters) also correlated with the issue. After all, a large data array (all parameters together) was used for mathematical analysis based on the predictive statistical model. Machine learning analysis was applied to the data. Results confirm the crucial role of eye movement parameters in interest prediction and also revealed the role of interhemispheric asymmetry of alpha-band power.The method shows the possibility of interest assessment based on several crucial physiological indices. The study enriches view about efficient methods in research of human behavior in the situation of perceiving information during reading text and viewing illustrations (e.g., in the advertisement).