Evaluating the formation level of university students’ values on the basis of eye tracking indicators

Introduction. The major research problem of the article is the necessity to develop and improve the methods of assessing the degree of formation of students’ values using the indicators of eye tracking activities to increase the accuracy of value orientations assessments and their influence on professional development in the conditions of modern educational requirements. Materials and Methods. The research methodology is based on a comprehensive approach to the study of students’ values and includes two main methods: a linguistic questionnaire and an eye tracking method. Results. Using data from the linguistic questionnaire, the authors identified two groups of respondents - with formed and unformed values. Participants with different levels of values demonstrated different dilemma-solving strategies. Through the use of the eye tracking method, the authors determined the features of eye tracking patterns depending on the degree of formed values. Statistically significant differences in value perception were found for three dilemmas (Parenting/Citizenship, Work/Recreation, Physical Well-being/Sports): respondents with unformed values spent more time reading the text of the dilemma. Nevertheless, the lack of significant differences overall, as well as the diversity of behavioral patterns among individuals with unformed values in the face of difficult moral choices, suggests that the prospects for applying iTracking technology in such studies require further discussion. Conclusions. The study did not confirm the presence of significant differences in the parameters of visual perception between subjects with formed and unformed values, but statistically significant differences were found in some features, in particular, the number and duration of fixations during decision making. The application of the eye tracking method to assess the level of values formation requires a comprehensive approach, including qualitative analysis of a linguistic questionnaire or an interview.