When science becomes love-Eye tracking for the new SAT1 season of “Hochzeit auf den ersten Blick”

At the beginning of 2024, our market research company got the chance to work on an exciting TV entertainment format. Our eye-tracking technology was used in the TV format “Hochzeit auf den ersten Blick” (Wedding at First Sight), where it was used as a further development of psychological research in the context of the 11th season of the series.

In the SAT1-series, single people are given psychological tests to help them identify their ideal life partner and finally tie the knot. The singles are not aware of who they will meet on their wedding day. The experts on the show take over the partner selection in the background and use various scientific methods to find a “perfect match”.

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During the partner selection phase, we supported the experts in using our eye-tracking technology to analyze the most visually attractive partner for the singles. The test subjects wore eye-tracking glasses that registered the eye movements of the participants. The test subjects were instructed to look at a selection of different people. Using the eye-tracking glasses, our team was able to determine how long each person was looked at. They also analyzed whether there was an unconscious preference for a particular person among the single people. This information was discussed in a final interview in order to draw further conclusions from the eye tracking.

Interested in finding out more about the use of eye tracking technology in the show? From minute 0.29.55 in season 11, episode 10, the use of eye tracking as a scientific method for researching human attractiveness is demonstrated.

Learn more about eye tracking in market research

Eye tracking is an important method in the fields of communication, product and consumer research and can be used at all touchpoints. Visual attention (system O) forms the fundamental basis for subsequent psychological processes such as perception (system 1) and reasoning (system 2). However, attention is limited. Eye tracking can be used to gain a better understanding of implicit, i.e. unconscious, processes that influence our visual attention. These findings help to improve the understanding of your customers’ perception and decision-making processes.