Pupil Dilation Predictive Anticipatory Activity: A Conceptual Replication

Abstract

This study is a conceptual replication of that one carried out by Tressoldi, Martinelli and Semenzato (2013) that observed an above chance predictive anticipatory activity of pupil dilation related to the appearance of a threatening or a neutral stimulus beyond a door presented in the middle of a computer screen.

With this experiment we tested if predictive anticipation effects can appear even when the organism is facing two alternatives and whether it can be used to choose the best alternative. In the first study, the pupil dilation predictive anticipatory activity predicted the location of the neutral stimulus approximately 2.5% above the value expected by chance. However a prediction accuracy at a chance level was obtained in the exact replication.

Keywords: pupil dilation, predictive activity, anticipation, random events