Running together influences where you look

Perception. 2024 Feb 26:3010066241235112. doi: 10.1177/03010066241235112. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

To read this article, you have to constantly direct your gaze at the words on the page. If you go for a run instead, your gaze will be less constrained, so many factors could influence where you look. We show that you are likely to spend less time looking at the path just in front of you when running alone than when running with someone else, presumably because the presence of the other runner makes foot placement more critical.

Keywords: depth; divided attention/resource competition; eye movements; individual differences; locomotion; navigation/wayfinding.