Automated Classification of Cognitive Workload Levels Based on Psychophysiological and Behavioural Variables of Ex-Gaussian Distributional Features

Abstract

The study is focused on applying ex-Gaussian parameters of eye-tracking and cognitive measures in the classification process of cognitive workload level. A computerised version of the digit symbol substitution test has been developed in order to perform the case study. The dataset applied in the study is a collection of variables related to eye-tracking: saccades, fixations and blinks, as well as test-related variables including response time and correct response number. The application of ex-Gaussian modelling to all collected data was beneficial in the context of detection of dissimilarity in groups. An independent classification approach has been applied in the study. Several classical classification methods have been invoked in the process. The overall classification accuracy reached almost 96%. Furthermore, the interpretable machine learning model based on logistic regression was adapted in order to calculate the ranking of the most valuable features, which allowed us to examine their importance.