Overconfident Behavior in Informational Cascades: An Eye-Tracking Study

This paper investigates the validity of the Dual Process theory by using eye-tracking methods to trace the process of attention during a non-preference-based problem solving task, that is, informational cascades. In this setting, gaze direction may convey evidence on how automatic detection is modified or sustained by controlled search. We provide laboratory evidence that gaze direction is driven by cognitive biases, such as overconfidence. In particular, we find a significant statistical correlation between first fixations and subjects' actual choices. Our results suggest that attentional strategies are not necessarily consistent with efficient patterns of information collecting. © 2010 American Psychological Association

Control design issues for a microinvasive neurosurgery teleoperator system

This paper deals with controller design issues for a neurosurgical teleoperator system. The specific application of interest consists in remotely inserting a linear-stage rigid endoscope into the patient's brain for microinvasive neurosurgery interventions. This work aims at evaluating the applicability of an existing general-purpose control architecture, addressing its advantages and drawbacks with respect to a simple task-oriented architecture, specifically designed for the target application. Preliminary experiments revealed that the task-oriented design can better fit the application requirements