Measuring temptation bias through eye-tracking

Temptation bias, a form of self-enhancement bias, occurs when individuals believe they are better at resisting temptation than other people (Garos, Beggan, & Kluck, 2005; Garos et al., 2008). To examine the presence of temptation bias, previous research has relied exclusively on self-report questionnaires (Garos, Beggan, & Kluck, 2005; Garos et al., 2008). The current study employs an experimental design to examine to what extent participants’ estimations of their ability to resist sexual situations correlate with their actual ability to do so. Eye-tracking technology has been used in various disciplines to study visual attention. The present study measured an individual’s actual ability to resist a temptation by examining where an individual focused attention while looking at nude photographs of male and female models. The eye-tracking measurements were compared to an individual’s perceived ability to resist temptation before viewing the photographs and after viewing the photographs, as measured by self-report. Thirty heterosexual, single men, aged 18 to 23 (M = 19.73, SD = 1.55) were used in the primary study. The majority of the participants identified as Caucasian (66.7%), and many were Freshman (40%). Results found no significant differences between participants’ perceived ability to resist a sexually tempting situation and their actual ability to resist, F(1.31, 40.55) = 2.30, p = .130. However, in comparison to other body regions men overestimated their viewing of male models’ heads and underestimated their viewing of female models’ heads. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed.