Eye-tracking for the study of financial decision-making: A systematic review of the literature

Eye-tracking is a technology that gives researchers an unprecedented level of access to the individual visual attention and the possibility of tracing different emotional and cognitive processes underlying one’s interaction with the environment. In recent years, increased availability of eye-tracking devices and the easier experimental tractability of data have made this technology ever-more appealing for behavioral and experimental researchers from various disciplines, finance included. With this paper, we aim to fulfill an identified need to organize and evaluate the available knowledge on the use of eye-tracking in the experimental research on financial decision-making. We perform a systematic review of the literature in these domains and analyze its structure and development (from the first published study until 2021) using a bibliometrics approach. We explore studies in proximal research fields which used eye-tracking methodology on aspects that resonate with processing of financial information, such as comprehension of graphs, effects of different data visualizations and so on. Afterwards, we organize and critically examine all contributions and chart a detailed knowledge map. Our results confirm growing interest in eye-tracking studies as well as the methodology’s potential as a tool for the understanding of different processes and aspects of individuals’ interaction with financial documents. We highlight the yet unexplored promise of the eye-tracking technology for both skill-evaluation and learning studies. Finally, we identify some of the knowledge gaps and present ideas for potential future research paths.